Kolkata civil society groups protest over Mocambo controversy

Activists of human rights body Association For Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR), members of several social groups, including People's Film Collective, Chiriakhana and Drishyantar, and students of Jadavpur and Presidency University took part in the four-hour long protest here.

Starting at 4 pm., the protest under the banner- They own the hotels, we own the streets- continued till 8 pm. in the evening.

A large number of general people joined the protest as well.

"Through few street plays, songs, dramas and dance, we are knocking the doors of Mocambo and warning other fine dining restaurants in the city that Kolkata is ready to protest if any of these commit such racist actions," a protester said.

Earlier on Sept 10, a woman- Dilashi Hemnani- posted a status on social networking site Facebook, describing how she and her driver were prevented from entering Mocambo restaurant as the driver- Manish Tiwari- was 'not aptly dressed'.

The Facebook post went viral very soon and it has been shared more than 34,000 times so far.

Following the post, the restaurant faced backlash and the wrath of netizens and a large number of Kolkatans promised to boycott Mocambo during Puja days.

However, Mocambo published a statement saying "Mocambo's policy has always been and still is not to discriminate against any person on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to access to Mocambo."

"We are currently deeply scrutinizing the events that could have led to a bad experience for any of our esteemed patrons and in the light of a recent incident, an enquiry is being made and we assure you that follow up action will be taken on the revelation of the truth," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Left affiliated taxi drivers' union- Kolkata Taxi Operators' Union- will stage demonstration in front of Mocambo on Sunday, where cabbie  Manish Tiwari, who was the alleged victim of the eatery's social bias, will be present.

(Reporting by Deepayan Sinha)