Monitor News Desk
Chennai: The Chennai police have arrested a bakery owner for an advertisement of his outlet that said eateries at his shop are made by Jains only and not by “Muslim staff”.
The advertisement was circulated through WhatsApp messages until it came into the notice of the police.
According to the police, 32-year-old Prashant, owner of the Jain Bakeries and Confectioneries sold his products online.
The advertisement on the WhatsApp read: “Made by Jains on orders, no Muslim staffs”.
The police said they arrested him for giving the wrong impression about the Muslims.
Ever since the lockdown began, the instances of hate speeches and hate crimes against Muslims have shot up. The social media has seen a surge of hate posts against Muslims after several members of Islamic group, Tablighi Jamaat, were found Covid-19 positive and the Delhi government declared the headquarters of the group in Nizamuddin a ‘hotspot’.
Even several BJP leaders have blamed the Tablighi Jamaat for spreading the virus in the country. In the aftermath of these remarks, several incidents were reported where Muslim vendors were disallowed from entering several neighbourhoods on the suspicion that they might spread the virus. The social media was abuzz with rumours that Muslim vendors spit on fruits and vegetables in order to spread the Coronavirus.
Last month, a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Suresh Tiwari asked people not to buy vegetables from Muslim vendors. When he was asked to explain his remarks, he defended his statement and said that he was merely addressing the complaints of the people. He said a group of 10-12 people had met him when he visited the constituency and they complained that the Muslim vendors spit on vegetables in order to spread the Coronavirus.
