A RESTAURATEUR says he is the victim of a sectarian smear campaign after a rogue social media post purportedly from his business drew a barrage of complaints for using the offensive term ‘hun’.
Pardeep Sanghera, who began running the Himalaya Restuarant in Cardonald a year ago, has said the reputation of his business has been sullied by internet row which has provoked a string of negative reviews online.
The account, which operated on Twitter, has now been closed down.
Mr Sanghera, who is to report the tweets to the police, says he is concerned his restaurant's name is being "used for sectarianism".
In one of offensive tweet directed at a journalist who reports on Rangers FC, it said: “You getting excited big boy. Are you a real reporter or a hun for life.”
Another, referring to the Craig Whyte-run Rangers Football Club plc going into liquidation over five years ago said: “Rangers could be dead again in the summer.”
The Paisley Road West restaurant, which is one-and-a-half miles from Ibrox, and developed a four star plus reputation on review sites has now been the focus of an organised negative comments campaign.
Derisive comments which started to appear remarked on the cleanliness of the toilets, the quality of the food and the behaviour of staff.
One complainer Blake de Almeida referred to a waiter who "kept farting" when bringing an order to the table and "kept laughing as if it wasn't putting us off our food". He added: "We had to leave, my daughter was in tears".
One of the less offensive comments on Google Reviews stuck to the social media row. One from James Robinson said: "Vile sectarian comments on Twitter re Protestants. Rather starve than hand over hard earned cash to these "People". Avoid."
Another said: "I'd give this place zero stars if I could. It truly deserves nothing more for its insulting, vile, sectarian comments on Twitter against protestant people. Shameful stuff and I for one will never set foot in it nor recommend it to anyone."
Other disparaging comments which began to appear on Trip Advisor have since been removed.
One of the less offensive reports said: "Used this place for years. Food usually good, but a recent report weill ensure I'll never be back. Members of staff referring to Rangers as huns is not the behaviour you would expect from a restaurant or any decent person. Just not good enough."
Mr Sanghera, 41, who is a Coventry City supporter, having originally come from the city and has a picture of the club's FA Cup win emblazoned on his Facebook profile said: "I woke up to this and my life changed.
"This is a disaster, this will finish me, and for something that I haven't done. I'm scared because of the reaction this has caused."
Mr Sanghera who previously ran the Asian restaurant India Quay which nine years ago was nominated as the leader of Glasgow's team to compete in the Curry Capital of Britain competition, took over the restaurant last year, having been established by his father 33 years ago.
But now he says he fears for the future because of the row, despite a Twitter post from someone identified only as Jared, purported to represent previous owners, saying nobody at the restaurant was responsible.
Mr Sanghera said: "I got up, sat downstairs playing with my kids and since then I think I might have had a heart attack through the number of people who have phoned and it has gone viral.
"We bought the business in good faith from another Indian family but soon realised that when we moved in it wasn't performing the way it had been.
He started to get emotional as he said:"I nearly lost my home. I am sitting here with my wife ... trying to get our house in order. It took a year to get it up to where it should have been.
"I have run an award winning restaurant. My dad was the original chef here. I thought we could turn it round. We were recovering and then we get this.
"Why would I do this. It is the worst possible thing you could do to discredit a business to have sectarian views shown like that.
"If I wanted to close my business now tomorrow I couldn't think of a better way of doing it.
"I have had calls. I have had nothing but abuse with people writing bad reviews. We never had a negative review, now it is one after another.
"If you go on Google, one said they were getting food poisioning.
"I have never dealt with anything like this. We are trying to run a decent family business."
He said he has "never been a Twitter guy" and had overlooked the official restaurant Twitter handle as it only had 15 followers and was not being used.
Rangers fans have been campaigning to have the use of the word 'hun' illegal since online abuse of pop singer Amy Macdonald three years ago.
An internet petition says the word is a term of "religious hatred, a derogatory and sectarian term for a Protestant".
The campaigners say those using the phrase should be treated no differently than those who use offensive words to describe Catholics.
The campaign to outlaw use of 'hun' came after the word was used in a Twitter tirade directed at Macdonald after she criticised England footballer Stan Collymore in a row which began when he linked Rangers and Chelsea to right wing groups such as Combat 18.
Ms Macdonald spoke out after the Talksport pundit said he we was vindicated as reports from Ireland claimed one Chelsea fan hunted for pushing a black man off the Paris underground was a former Royal Ulster Constabulary officer and had been a Rangers fan.
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