Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Jul 5: An inter-faith couple from Kerala alleged that they were denied room by staff of a Bengaluru hotel as they belong to different religions. However, the hotel owner has a different story to tell.

Shafeek Subaida Hakkim in a post shared on social media revealed that he and his wife Divya tried to check into Olive Residency hotel in Sudhamanagar, Bengaluru on Wednesday July 5 morning. The receptionist asked the couple if they were married. When they said yes, he still denied them a room as Hakkim is a Muslim and Divya a Hindu.

Apparently, as Divya had an interview, the couple decided to move to another hotel than waste time arguing.

When a news channel contacted the receptionist, he confirmed that he denied the couple a room as he was ‘suspicious’ of them. "We don’t give rooms to Muslims and Hindus who come together, because what if they go into the room and hang themselves… Why do we need that trouble," he reportedly said.

However, according to the owner of Olive Residency Shivu, the couple being denied a room had nothing to do with the couple’s religions.

"The couple asked for a room for half an hour but the cashier refused. Then the couple agreed to take the room for a day. However, the couple did not possess valid identity cards or luggage and hence were denied a room," Shivu said.

"We did not refuse them a room because of their religious beliefs. Seventy to seventy five percent of our customers are Muslims. Hence there is no Hindu-Muslim issue here. Those who have proper ids are given rooms. This couple did not show us any proper id nor did they have any luggage," he said, according to news agency ANI.

Nevertheless, the hotel is facing the brunt with scores of netizens rating the hotel lowest in online review portals. Many have criticized the hotel for discrimination in the reviews.