<div align="justify">A married couple from Kerala who visited Bengaluru for an interview had a “harrowing experience” when a hotel refused them a room for a short stay to refresh themselves on Tuesday morning. <br /><br />The couple, who had an inter-faith marriage, claimed that after they showed their identity cards, the hotel management refused to give them accommodation citing they were from different religions. The irked couple had an argument with the hotel management and left the spot.<br /><br />Shafeek Subaida Hakkim and Divya D V, who reached Bengaluru by bus on Tuesday morning, wanted to freshen up at a hotel before heading for an interview at the National Law School of India University in Nagarbhavi. After alighting from the bus at Basaveshwara Bus Stand around 7 am, they decided to check into a hotel named Olive Residency on Annipuram Main Road in Sudhamanagar near Lalbagh.<br /><br />“After we entered our names in the register, the man at the counter asked us if we are married. Even after confirming that we were married, he was reluctant to give the room keys. He said he cannot give the room to a Muslim and a Hindu couple,” Shafeek told Deccan Herald.<br /><br />They then left the hotel in an autorickshaw and posted their experience on social media.<br /><br />The hotel staff said the couple had come without baggage and asked for the room only for half-an-hour. “It is against the hotel’s policy to let out rooms on an hourly basis. The police have instructed us to be strict with guests who might misuse our premises for immoral activities or even to commit suicide. We reserve our right to give or deny rooms to guests,” said one of the hotel staff.<br /> <div align="justify"><div align="justify">Shafeek clarified that they showed their Voters' ID cards to the hotel staff. "The staff did not raise any objection other than our religion. If it was ID card issue, the reaction would not be like this," he told Deccan Herald.<br /><br />“The autorickshaw driver who took us there also became wary,” Shafeek said. Later, Shafeek and Divya managed to get accommodation at another hotel and returned to Kerala after attending the interview.</div></div></div>
<div align="justify">A married couple from Kerala who visited Bengaluru for an interview had a “harrowing experience” when a hotel refused them a room for a short stay to refresh themselves on Tuesday morning. <br /><br />The couple, who had an inter-faith marriage, claimed that after they showed their identity cards, the hotel management refused to give them accommodation citing they were from different religions. The irked couple had an argument with the hotel management and left the spot.<br /><br />Shafeek Subaida Hakkim and Divya D V, who reached Bengaluru by bus on Tuesday morning, wanted to freshen up at a hotel before heading for an interview at the National Law School of India University in Nagarbhavi. After alighting from the bus at Basaveshwara Bus Stand around 7 am, they decided to check into a hotel named Olive Residency on Annipuram Main Road in Sudhamanagar near Lalbagh.<br /><br />“After we entered our names in the register, the man at the counter asked us if we are married. Even after confirming that we were married, he was reluctant to give the room keys. He said he cannot give the room to a Muslim and a Hindu couple,” Shafeek told Deccan Herald.<br /><br />They then left the hotel in an autorickshaw and posted their experience on social media.<br /><br />The hotel staff said the couple had come without baggage and asked for the room only for half-an-hour. “It is against the hotel’s policy to let out rooms on an hourly basis. The police have instructed us to be strict with guests who might misuse our premises for immoral activities or even to commit suicide. We reserve our right to give or deny rooms to guests,” said one of the hotel staff.<br /> <div align="justify"><div align="justify">Shafeek clarified that they showed their Voters' ID cards to the hotel staff. "The staff did not raise any objection other than our religion. If it was ID card issue, the reaction would not be like this," he told Deccan Herald.<br /><br />“The autorickshaw driver who took us there also became wary,” Shafeek said. Later, Shafeek and Divya managed to get accommodation at another hotel and returned to Kerala after attending the interview.</div></div></div>
