A five-star hotel here has been charged with "hurting religious sentiments" after the waiters in its bar allegedly served liquor wearing "saffron clothes with the word Ram inscribed on them" on the day of Ramnavmi festival, an official said today.
The incident has drawn strong condemnation from the Congress and the VHP.
"A case of 'hurting the religious sentiments with malice' has been lodged against the Rambagh Palace (of Taj group of hotels) in Ashok Nagar area, and the probe has begun," Superintendent of Police Sanjay Agarwal said.
The case was registered following complaints by public based on a media report that the waiter and waitresses "wearing saffron coloured clothes with Ram inscribed on them and Rudrakash necklace" served drinks to foreigners at the hotel's bar, the SP said.
When contacted Dilip Puri, General Manager of the hotel, told PTI on telephone that the event hosted on Friday was based on the Bollywood theme of 'Dum Maro Dum' (a song in Dev Anand's movie Hare Rama Hare Krishna) and was not a religious one.
"It was not (not) our intention to hurt anybody's religious sentiments... It was unfortunate that the event coincided with the Ramnavmi," he said, adding the press coverage of the event was allowed.
A VHP spokesman Mahaveer Pareek condemned the incident saying "it was the most ugly face of hoteliers and a clear evidence of cultural invasion." "Action should taken against the guilty," he said.
Rajasthan Pradesh Congress spokesman Riyazuddin Sheikh said the event had hurt the Hindu traditions.