Delhi: Swiggy delivery boy refuses to deliver mutton near Marghat Hanuman temple area

Sachin Panchal, the Swiggy delivery boy who refused to deliver a food order of mutton korma near Delhi's Marghat Baba Hanuman Mandir precinct spoke to India Today/Aaj Tak after the video went viral last week.

A video showed him standing outside the iron bar gates of the temple precinct with a mutton korma food order in his hand. The location and delivery destination was showing as Ram Kachori, Yamuna Bazaar, Hanuman Mandir. The incident happened on March 1, 2023, which was ascertained from the bill of the delivery placed. 

Sachin Panchal refused to deliver a mutton korma order to its destination because it was inside the temple premises of Marghat Hanuman mandir in Kashmere Gate, Old delhi. His videos about the incident have gone viral, following which he claimed Swiggy removed him from the job.

Business Today reached out to the foodtech major for a comment. The company responded by saying that the delivery boy is continues to be a part of Swiggy. 

Speaking to India Today, Panchal said: “Naukri aaj nahi toh kal mil jayegi. Apna dharam bhi toh zaroori hai. Apne parivar ko chalane ke liye mein apne sanatas dharam ke bhaaiyon ko thes thodi nahi pahuchaunga.” 

(I will get the job tomorrow if not today. But religion is also important. Just because I want to earn for my family, I cannot disappoint my brothers who follow sanatan dharma) 

He also described the night when he went to deliver the order (containing mutton korma) to a place which was inside the boundary walls of a temple. He said that the area around the temple was deserted and he was scared of staying there for too long. But he stuck to his conviction of not taking meat inside the temple.

There are call records of him speaking to Swiggy customer care hotline that he will not go inside to deliver the order, because it is the area where offerings or sweets and Kachori to god Hanuman are prepared each day. the customer care representative Anubhav said that even though he is not doing anything wrong , but it is a policy that food has to be delivered at the door step. Sachin also said, that he is not an “adharmi” and that he will not go inside to deliver the order and will make the call details public if he is forced to do so. 

On Tuesday, Sachin Panchal was felicitated by the temple board of Marghat Hanuman mandir for 'upholding' religious sanctity of the holy shrine. “Whatever he has done to protect Hinduism is his own conscious and moral action. He does not belong to any Hindu group, or any political party or any religious group. This is a message to people who say Hindu so raha hai. Hindi ab jaag gaya hai. And for his moral service, we will make sure he gets a job again, he will be our brother and sevadaar in the Hanuman temple premises," said Marghat Baba Mandir incharge and trustee Pandit Vaibhav Sharma. 

Heavy CRPF and Delhi police has been deployed near the shop Ram Kachori, adjacent to the ancient Hanuman temple whose location was being shown on the delivery app. Since a few days after the video of the incident went viral, locals in that area along with some Hindu groups have forced the shutters of the shop down.