Hotel Association condemns assault of hotel staff by cop in Maharashtra for denying free food, drinks

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 24 : Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association(AHAR), the apex body of the hotel industry, on Thursday condemned the assault on a hotel staff by an Assistant Police Inspector (API) attached to Mumbai's Vakola Police.
A video purportedly showing the API assaulting the cashier at a Vakola hotel, for allegedly refusing to serve food and alcohol after midnight, has gone viral on social media.
The alleged incident took place at 'Swagat' restaurant near the Vakola police station around 12.30 am on Thursday.
As per the video captured on the CCTV camera inside the hotel, the police officer Vikram Patil goes up to the cashier, pulls his shirt and slaps him, while the manager and the restaurant staff were seen trying to intervene and stop him.
The cop was furious that the restaurant refused to serve free food and drinks as the kitchen had closed because of the pandemic related guidelines for the restaurant industry.
Commenting on the incident, Shivanand Shetty, President, AHAR said, "We strongly condemn this incident which not only brings bad name to the Police force but causes local business owners to lose trust in the local law enforcement agencies. Restaurant owners want nothing more than to peacefully conduct their business and hence we request that very strict action be initiated on the cop to prevent such occurrences wherein law enforcers become lawbreakers."