Updated: October 15, 2020 12:28:32 am
The “apology” sign taped to the door of the Tanishq showroom
AFTER a group of men allegedly broke into a Tanishq showroom in the Kutch town of Gandhidham, following backlash on social media to a company ad depicting an interfaith family, local police increased the surveillance in the area Wednesday.
Prakash Gupta, owner of the Tanishq franchise in Gandhidham, told The Indian Express that six to seven people had broken into the showroom on Monday night before one of them wrote an apology on behalf of the store with a pen on the bulletin board.
“They told us that they had objections to an ad launched by the company and that they were perceiving it negatively. We told them that we will inform the company about it. Then they wrote on the bulletin board, which we generally use to display the price of gold, that we were apologizing to the Hindu community and we left, ”Gupta said.
Gupta said he had informed police about the incident on Tuesday. “In response, the police came today. We have hinted at what happened but do not intend to file a police report. Our company also withdrew the ad, “Gupta said, adding that the showroom” was not targeted. “
The Minister of State for Home, Pradeepsinh Jadeja, posted on Twitter that the reports that the showroom was being “attacked” were false and ordered that a case be brought against those who spread “fake news.”
Jadeja posted: “The news of an attack on a showroom in Gandhidham, Kutch by @ndtv is totally false. This is a motivated attempt to impact law and order and incite violence in Gujarat. I have asked to register a case and take strict measures against those who spread this false news. Later, NDTV said the store had received a “threat.”
Kutch (East) SP Mayur Patil said there was no violence at the store located on Tagore Road. However, he acknowledged that the showroom had received threats and that the police had been deployed since Tuesday night.
“Tanishq had launched an advertisement on Friday, which had hurt the religious feelings of a few. After that, Tanishq had issued a nationwide apology. After that apology, two people had come to Tanishq Gandhidham’s shop on October 12 and demanded that an apology in Gujarati be displayed here. The store owner quickly responded to that demand. However, he was receiving threatening calls from across the state and the Kutch area and duly reported to the police on October 13. Since then, the police have been deployed and patrolling, ”said the SP.
According to the store staff, a mob had gathered outside the showroom on Monday night, after which six or seven of them broke into the showroom and spoke abusive words in the presence of women and customers. Staff said the men wrote on the notice board that the ad was embarrassing and therefore the showroom “apologizes to all the Hindus in Kutch.”
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