Indian police warn Hindu for rejecting Muslim delivery driver

NEW DELHI: A Hindu man who rejected a food delivery from a Muslim driver has been slapped with a good behaviour bond by Indian police, with officers saying he acted against the constitution.

Controversy erupted when the customer in the central state of Madhya Pradesh said on Twitter late on Tuesday that he cancelled his order from Zomato because “a non-Hindu rider” arrived with his food. Zomato -- which like other delivery services has become wildly popular in Indian cities -- hit back on its Twitter account on Wednesday, declaring: “Food doesn’t have a religion. It is a religion.”

The statement has been liked more than 80,000 times on Twitter. Jabalpur police superintendent Amit Singh said the customer had been asked to pay a bond of 100,000 rupees. “If he repeats any such action within the next six months, he could face jail or lose his bond money,” Singh told AFP.

His behaviour “goes against the constitution and creates discord between communities”, he added. Indian authorities can act against individuals under the Code of Criminal Procedure for different reasons including when they think a person could sow public discord with their actions.