In a blatant case of religious discrimination, a Mumbai-based diamond export company rejected a job application only because the person was a Muslim.


Zeshan Ali Khan (pictured) an MBA grad, had emailed his resume to Hari Krishna Exports in Mumbai. He said he had applied for the job with a couple of friends and almost half of them were immediately placed. His application however, was rejected within 20 minutes.


Zeeshan said the company emailed him saying, "Thanks for your application. We regret to inform you that we hire only non-Muslim candidates."


Zeshan said, he initially thought the response was a joke and but when he realised the company was serious, he took to Facebook to post his outrage. It was only after the post gained traction, that Zeeshan received a "regret" e-mail yesterday, by a senior executive of the company.


The mail read: "We would like to clarify that the company does not discriminate against candidates based on gender, caste, religion, etc. Any hurt caused in the matter is deeply regretted," said Mahendra S. Deshmukh, Associate VP & Head-HR of the company.


"Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks about inclusive growth, but companies are dealing like this. If I was not qualified enough, I should have been told accordingly," said Zeeshan who is an MBA in international business.


The incident has become politicised with Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi jumping in saying, "If any such incident of denying a person job on religion has happened, it is wrong. Religion cannot be a criterion for rejection from job. Only merit and demerit is the criterion."


The company also said that the e-mail was sent erroneously by a new employee who was still training and that it does not discriminate against candidates based on religion.


The National Commission for Minorities has called for an inquiry into the case.