Delhi: Cobbler forced to remove surname 'Verma' from his shop sign, shares his plight

A local resident, according to a cobbler in Delhi, has been pressuring him to change his name on the sign at his roadside stall. Ram Avtar Verma, a Rajasthani native, said that he was being forced to drop the last name 'Verma' and choose one for the caste of leather workers, which is frequently used as a slur.

After the pandemic, Verma, a father of six, reopened his shop in Mayur Vihar next to Ahlcon Public School. He claimed that a resident who lives in a society opposite his stall had questioned him since they shared a last name.

Verma, who intends to go to the police to file a report, says he has been the target of harassment for a number of months. The cobbler's accuser has refuted the allegations and countered with a claim of a political plot against him.

The resident denied the allegations, he told TOI "I have never met the cobbler or even spoken to him." The 70-year-old added, "A political lobby has a vested interest in targeting me after our residents' welfare association filed a PIL to remove food sellers operating close to the school."

According to the TOI report, Data from the National Crime Records Bureau show a rise in the number of crimes committed against SC and ST populations. Five ST/SC-related instances were reported in the city in 2021, the most recent year for which NCRB data is available, compared to just one case each in 2020 and 2019.