Mumbai Police arrests Mira Road resident who refused to accept groceries delivered by Muslim during coronavirus lockdown

The Mumbai Police on Wednesday arrested a 51-year-old man in Mira Road for refusing to accept groceries delivered by a Muslim on Tuesday, according to several media reports. [caption id=“attachment_5791951” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Image courtesy: Grofers.com[/caption] The 32-year-old delivery person Barkat Patel, a resident of Naya Nagar, reached Mira Road’s Srushti Complex on Tuesday to deliver groceries ordered online and called the man’s wife, as per a report in Indian Express. The man asked Patel his name and later told his wife to return all the items, as per the report. Patel recorded the rest of the conversation on his mobile phone, in which the man said that he did not want an order from a person from the minority community, as per the Indian Express report. Patel also filed a complaint at the Kashimira Police Station. “I have been risking my life and delivering essential goods to homes. And to think that in these tough times too, people want to focus on religion is shocking and saddening,” he told The Times of India. The police registered a case under Section 295 (a) (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code. The accused was produced before the Thane sessions court and remanded in judicial custody, as per the report. If convicted, the accused can be punished with imprisonment for up to three years for deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.