Mumbai: Employer booked as Dalit man claims caste discrimination at workplace

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The police have registered a case against the owner of an event management company in Mumbai after one of its employees accused her of caste discrimination at workplace, an official said on Friday, reported news agency PTI.

The 23-year-old complainant told the police that the owner of the company, located in Goregaon area, passed a snide remark showing caste discrimination on April 14, the birth anniversary of Dalit icon Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.

The man received a WhatsApp message from his employer that day asking him whether he belonged to the SC (Scheduled Castes) community, the official said citing the complaint, reported PTI.

When the man replied in the affirmative, the company owner said she didn't employ people from the "backward" community, he said.

In the WhatsApp exchange, the employer said "main Jai Bhim wale ko job pe nahi rakhti (I don't employ Dalits)," the complainant alleged, reported PTI.

The man, who had joined the company as a marketing executive, informed his parents about the experience and then approached the Goregaon police station with a complaint, the official said, reported PTI.

Acting on the complaint, a case was registered against the company owner under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, the official said, reported PTI.

As the man lives in the Vokola area, the case was transferred to the Vakola police station for further investigation, the official said, reported PTI.

Meanwhile, a purported screenshot of the WhatsApp exchange between the man and his employer went viral on social media.

In another case, a 47-year-old man from Navi Mumbai was allegedly duped of Rs 46 lakh by fraudsters posing as officials from the Mumbai cyber police, who threatened to register a case of money laundering and drugs against him, police said on Friday, reported PTI.

The police on Thursday registered a case under section 420 (cheating) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act against four persons, an official said, reported PTI.

As per the complaint, the accused allegedly posed as officials of the Mumbai cyber police and contacted the victim, a resident of Nerul, on WhatsApp, claiming that they had received a complaint of money laundering and drugs against him, he said, reported PTI.

The accused demanded money from the complainant to avoid a police case, and he transferred Rs 46 lakh to different bank accounts between April 10 and 15, the official said, reported PTI.

No arrests have been made so far, and a probe has been initiated, he said.

(With inputs from PTI)