Meerut: A marriage hall operator in the Kharkhoda village here cancelled the booking of a youngster three days before the marriage because of his caste. As per the sources, a youth in the village booked the hall about a week ago for his sister's wedding scheduled on April 9. The hall operator confirmed the booking and even took the advance payment, but later cancelled the booking after he found out that the boy belongs to a lower caste.
The operator purportedly called up the youth who had booked the hall and asked him to 'take his money back'. Despite requests, the operator refused to bulge and said the booking remains cancelled. The cancellation three days prior the wedding landed the family in a grave puddle with nowhere to resort to at last moment. The family tried its best to convince the manager, but in vain.
As per the sources, the manager, in his explanation for his behaviour, said that no operators in the area allow weddings of certain communities in their wedding halls. If they do, people from other communities stop holding their ceremonies there, leading to financial losses.
Enraged at the discriminatory behaviour, the family reached out to the local police to seek help. The youth filed a complaint with the SSP, wherein he mentioned that he had also paid an advance amount of Rs. 10,000 to the operator for the booking. He also submitted a phone call recording with the manager where he can be heard saying that the booking has been cancelled because of the caste of the family.
The SSP took notice of the matter but no action was initiated immediately, which led to increased rage among the family and other people of the community. The community soon gathered in front of the SSP office to stage a protest, demanding to take action against the operator. When enquired about the matter, CO Kithore Rupali Rai told ETV Bharat that she has not received any such information so far told.
