In a video that has now surfaced online, a man, reportedly the 51-year-old Gajanan Chaturvedi who was earlier arrested for allegedly refusing to take delivery from a Muslim person has dismissed claims of ‘religious discrimination‘ levelled against him.

In the viral video, Chaturvedi clarified, “My elder daughter who lives in Hyderabad had booked groceries online for me. When I and my wife went downstairs to collect our supplies, I was not pleased with his behaviour. He was sitting on his Scooty and scratching his unmasked face.”

No mask, was touching face continuously

“I was taken aback, given that people are scared to even touch their own face at the time of the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic.” On being asked his address, the 32-year-old delivery man said that he had come from Naya Nagar, one of the Coronavirus hotspots in the city. The man asked, “How did you reach here from Naya Nagar when there is a strict restriction on the movement of people?”

Scared by the fact that the delivery boy was touching his face continuously and had come from a Coronavirus hotspot, the Mumbai man refused to take his groceries. When the couple began heading towards their home, the boy allegedly kept yelling, “I am a Muslim and so you are not taking my stuff.”

Never mentioned his religion

The man clarified, “During my interaction with him, I never mentioned the word ‘Muslim’ even for once.” Rebuking the delivery boy, the man emphasised that he would not take the groceries. “It is important to stay safe. If I get infected, then, my children will also get infected”, Chaturvedi was heard saying in the video.

The man alleged that the boy did not turn the camera towards himself as it would have revealed the fact that he was not wearing the mask. “There were no gloves in his hand. I told him that I won’t take the goods. Tell me where am I wrong?”, the man asked.

The delivery boy had registered a complaint at Kashimira police station on Tuesday. The police booked Gajanan Chaturvedi under the Indian Penal Code section 295 (a) for committing a deliberate or malicious act with the intention of outraging Patel’s religious feelings and beliefs. He was then produced before a Thane court. Chaturvedi was later released on a personal surety of Rs 15,000, as per reports.