(MENAFN- The Peninsula) A 27-year-old disability rights activist was allegedly denied entry to an upscale restaurant in South Delhi on Friday night on account of his disability. The Delhi government has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the matter.
The incident was reported from Keya in Vasant Kunj's DLF Promenade mall. According to the activist, Nipun Malhotra, eight of his friends - five men and three women - had reached before him.
"They told the management that I am wheelchair-bound and would be coming later. The manager asked if mine was a permanent disability. Upon learning that it was, the manager informed my friends that as a 'policy', they don't allow the disabled to enter Keya," Malhotra said.
His friends told him about this, but Malhotra said he decided to go anyway.
"I went to Keya last year for a private party. Maybe in a private party the host decides who enters the restaurant and that is why I was not barred from entering then. On reaching the place on Friday night, the security blocked my way. They told me I was making it awkward for them by insisting on going inside when they had a clear policy on the matter. I felt humiliated," he said.
Malhotra then reportedly asked the manager to give it to him in writing that disabled persons were not allowed inside Keya. Malhotra said the hotel staff "twisted" the entire matter and told him that he was not being allowed inside as he was a "stag entry".
"I said that since my five male and three female friends were already inside, they had clearly allowed stag entries. My friends also clicked pictures of other male guests who were sitting inside alone, clearly showing stag entries were being allowed," he said.
Malhotra said he "only wanted a written apology" from Keya and did not wish to pursue the issue legally.
Anusuya Sahdev, a senior member of Keya's management, responded that Malhotra was "contradicting" himself by saying that the restaurant had a policy of not allowing disabled persons while admitting he was allowed inside in 2014.
"In this day and age, such an argument is unthinkable. We created a Twitter account to respond to these allegations. Malhotra entered Keya 45 minutes after his friends reached. As Friday was Holi, a lot of people were turning up intoxicated. We wanted to keep a safe watch and were being cautious about the ratio of males and females. That is why stag entries were not being allowed," Sahdev said.
She also claimed that the manager sent Malhotra an apology via SMS, which he did not respond to.
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