Mumbai couple harasses pizza delivery man for not speaking Marathi. Video sparks outrage
A couple in Mumbai was filmed harassing a pizza delivery agent for not being able to speak Marathi.
A couple in Mumbai was filmed harassing a pizza delivery agent for not being able to speak Marathi. In footage that has been widely circulated online, fanning the regional language row, the couple was seen repeatedly asking the pizza delivery agent to speak in Marathi even as he protested that he did not know the language.
According to an NDTV report, the incident took place on Monday at the Sai Radhe building in Bhandup, a suburb of Mumbai.
Here’s what happened
When pizza delivery agent Rohit Lavare landed at the couple’s doorstep to deliver the pizza they had ordered, the couple reportedly began asking him to speak Marathi.
Their message to the delivery agent was clear: Speak Marathi or you will not be paid.
“Zabardasti hai Marathi bolne ka? Par kyun? (Is there some compulsion to speak Marathi? But why?” Lavare was seen asking in the video.
“Hai yahan pe aise hi hai (That’s how it is here),” the woman replied, to which he shot back: “Kaun bola aise hi hai? (Who says this is how it must be?)”
The delivery agent – associated with a popular pizza chain – was heard getting frustrated as the couple refused to pay. “Nahi aata toh phir nahi order karne ka na. Nahi dena hai na paisa, haan theek hai, theek hai (If this was your condition then you shouldn’t have ordered. You don’t want to pay? Fine, fine),” he was heard saying.
The row escalated when the couple apparently claimed that the food they ordered was spoilt and refused to pay. The woman was also heard telling the delivery executive that he could not record them, while she could record him.
According to NDTV, the delivery agent had to eventually return without the money he was owed.
The video has sparked outrage online, with public opinion largely in favour of the delivery agent.
“As a Marathi I apologize to all Indians. This is not us,” wrote one X user. “This Linguistic virus started in Tamil Nadu, then moved to Karnataka and now in Maharashtra. All these states are neighboring each other,” another said.
“What a shameless couple. Harassing a poor hardworking delivery guy. On a, flimsy pretext they are trying to get that pizza for free. Happy to see that the guy too is not relenting,” a user said.
