Actor Emraan Hashmi today accused a housing society in posh Bandra of "religious discrimination" saying that it denied him the No Objection Certificate (NOC) to purchase a flat in the building because he is a Muslim.
"This is clearly a case of religious discrimination. Some people told me that this society is biased towards Muslims. They did not tell me directly but it is obvious," the actor alleged.
Hashmi said he wanted to buy a house in the posh Pali Hill but the housing society refused to give him the NOC because of his religion.
"The Nibbana cooperative housing society at Pali Hill did not provide NOC to purchase the flat," Hashmi, who was flanked by mentor Mahesh Bhatt, said here.
The actor said he has approached the State Minorities Commission, seeking its intervention on the issue.
Hashmi has filed a complaint alleging that the society had refused to give him a no-objection certificate even after he had paid the token amount of one lakh.
He also accused the society of not entertaining his parents despite the fact that they had sought an appointment to meet the office-bearers.
"My parents went to meet the society members last week along with the seller and the broker. The members refused to meet them saying they were busy. I really found it offensive," he said.
When told about society's claim that he was denied NOC because of his "serial kisser" image, the actor said, "They are trying to duck the issue. Many big stars like Prem Chopra and Anil Dhawan, who have done negative roles in their movies are their members but the society has no problem with their onscreen image."
Hashmi said he has been asked to get a character certificated by the State Minorities Commission.
"I talked to Abraham Mathai, who is a member of the commission. He has asked me to get a character certificate from the police. I am going to apply for it then we will wait and see what happens next," the actor said.
Meanwhile, Mathai confirmed that he had received a formal complaint from the actor, saying the commission is looking into the matter.
"We have received a complaint from Emraan Hashmi. He is stating the discrimination by a housing society. We have issued notice to the chairman and the secretary of the housing society to give an explanation. We will wait for that," Mathai said.
"If we find that they used discrimination then we will take action against them," Mathai added.
Earlier, veteran actress Shabana Azmi had claimed that she faced problems getting a house in Juhu because of her religion.
