FIR Against Amazon US For Selling Rugs, Toilet Seat Covers With Images of Hindu Gods

A complaint was made at the Sector 58 police station against Amazon US.

Noida: The Noida Police on Friday registered a case against e-commerce giant Amazon for allegedly hurting ‘Hindu sentiments’ after rugs and toilet seat covers with pictures of Hindu gods were available for sale on its US website.

A complaint was made at the Sector 58 police station for allegedly promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion.

“The foreign-based company regularly puts up products on its website which hurts the sentiments of Hindus. This may lead to communal tension in our country anytime. Hence, it’s a request to take strict action against the company so that such incidents are not repeated and Hindus can live with their pride and dignity peacefully,” complainant Vikas Mishra said.

Circle Officer, Noida 2nd, Piyush Kumar Singh said the FIR has been registered under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code — promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.

The e-commerce website faced the flak of social media users on Thursday after they started tweeting out against the retail giant for ‘hurting’ Hindu sentiments. Amid the increasing rage, #boycottAmazon trended on the micro-blogging site.

“God in any form is GOD …I want to ask the world … ???? Do Christians or Muslims put Lord Jesus / Allah images in their bathrooms & on their toilets ? ???? #BoycottAmazon,” one user tweeted.

“Hindu deities on floor mats and toilet covers…didn’t expect this from #amazon #BoycottAmazon,” tweeted another.

As many as 16,500 tweets were posted against Amazon India till the time the article was filed.

The e-commerce giant was yet to issue a statement on this.

However, this is not the first time that the retail giant has come under fire for listing such articles bearing images of Hindu deities.

Amazon Canada website earlier faced flak for selling doormats resembling India’s flag.

In another incident, e-retail giant Amazon faced flak from a prominent Sikh body for selling products such as doormats, rugs and toilet seat covers with the image of the Golden Temple. The Sikh body demanded the prohibition of sales that are culturally inappropriate and offensive. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh also joined the outrage and condemned the image of Golden Temple appearing on doormats and rugs that were reportedly sold on Amazon. Amarinder Singh said that the use of religious or spiritual imagery on products that come into contact with unhygienic surfaces is offensive to all followers of Eastern religions.