On March 1, an online food delivery boy refused to deliver an order to a customer as it hurt his religious beliefs. As per a viral video Sachin Panchal who works as a delivery boy at Swiggy refused to deliver mutton korma next to Balaji Hanuman temple in the Kashmere Gate area of Delhi.
After the video of the said incident went viral, various Hindu activists assembled in front of the shop and the administration had to seize it. Following these actions, Panchal alleged that he lost his job but authorities at Swiggy said his ID is still active.
The Viral Video
In the viral video, Panchal can be seen saying that a man named Abhiskeh Sharma who has a ‘Kachori’ shop next to Balaji Hanuman temple located in the Jamuna Bazar area of the Kashmere Gate ordered food from Karol Bagh. His menu included Mutton Korma and chapati.
Panchal refused to deliver the food there as he is a Hindu and the shop was inside the temple premise. He said this was ‘Adharma’ for him and he cannot do that.
As per the viral video, Panchal says, during the day these people sell prashad in the temple and at night eat Mutton Korma.
Sachin Panchal, a Swiggy delivery agent, found that the location of the mutton korma dish he was asked to deliver was located inside temple premises
He refuses to make the delivery and recorded some videos on the spot so he can explain his stand to the company
You can watch the… pic.twitter.com/x5WlX67r2y
— Swati Goel Sharma (@swati_gs) March 10, 2023
As per a report by India Today, the conversation between Panchal and Abhishiek Sharma was as follows:
Delivery boy: The company has not cancelled the order yet.
Customer: Please speak calmly. Why are you being rude?
Delivery boy: No bhaiya, I have been talking to the company for a long while. My throat hurts now. Your shop is inside the four walls of the temple. I had no problem delivering the order if the place wasn’t located there.
Customer: You check my order summary with your company. I order on all 365 days around the year.
Delivery boy: Do you place orders on all 365 days from inside your shop?
Customer: Yes, yes. I order from where I am standing right now.
Delivery boy: But the shop is inside the four walls of the temple.
Customer: The temple is not here. It’s 150 steps away from my shop.
Delivery boy: Where, bhaiya? The temple is just two steps away.
Customer: It is okay.
Delivery boy: You only think, you are an old establishment. You distribute prasad and all. And bringing meat to the same shop will not be right, in my opinion.
Customer: It is okay.
Delivery boy: Alright then. I cannot bring your order as there is a mandir.
What did the delivery boy tell Organiser Weekly?
Panchal while speaking about his job said, he left the job on his own as Swiggy lost their regular customer because of him. There is a policy in organisations like Swiggy where they do not terminate any employee instantly after any such incident is reported. They take time of few weeks and keep reporting the profile of the employee, and later discredit them followed by a termination.
Panchal says before Swiggy could terminate him he left his job.
Panchal is a married man and a father of two children. His family survived on his income only. He would earn twelve to twenty thousand a month depending upon the hours he worked.
He comes from Lohar jati which falls under the OBC category.
He is currently looking for a job.
No statement in relation to the incident has been issued by authorities at Swiggy. India Today while quoting an official wrote, “Swiggy has not terminated the employee as his ID is still active. He might perhaps be afraid of taking orders after the incident”.
Panchal also argued with the customer care representative saying he is not an ‘Adharmi’ who will walk into the temple with mutton in hand.
People like Panchal are an inspiration to those who abide by their Dharma even if it costs their job.
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