Hyderabad cops help US citizen turned away from mart

TNN | Updated: Apr 15, 2020, 06:29 IST

Julie Price (2nd from left) with police after shopping at the hypermarket.

HYDERABAD: After TOI reported about a US citizen being too scared to leave her house because she was reportedly heckled at a hypermarket a day into lockdown, police reached her doorstep to assure her of her safety. They ensured she bought essentials from the very store where she was allegedly abused.
Julie Price was not allowed to enter the store by store security. Later, two people from North-East faced similar treatment at the store. “We took her (Price) to the store and ensured she bought all that she needed. We have also warned the store management that they cannot stop anyone from entering the store on the basis of their nationality or ethnicity,” Vanasthalipuram sub-inspector Venkat Reddy told TOI.

Thanking TOI for its effort, Price said, “Police came to my flat and spoke to my team member, the flat owner and me. Then, they took me to the same grocery store that had denied me entry. They introduced me to the store manager and told him he should always allow me inside the shop. The manager encouraged me to call if I need anything and said he would personally help me . This is the Indian hospitality that I always knew was there.”
The resident of Tennessee has rented a two-bedroom apartment in Vanasthalipuram and the store is located nearby. She came to India in January.
Rachakonda police commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat said, “We got in touch with Julie Price and took her to the store to boost her confidence.” People might have heckled her because of fear that she too might have come from a Covid-19-affected country, he added.