Ahmedabad civic body removes 'Hitler' from Vastrapur shop

After controversy over the naming of an apparel shop as ‘Hitler’ in Vastrapur erupted in August, the officials of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), on Tuesday, finally managed to remove the six-letter word from billboard.

AMC officials, however, removed only six letter name and the board contains to wear symbol of swastika. Initially after the controversy erupted, the shop owners had assured state government that he would remove the name. This had prompted the state government to assure the Israel's consul-general in Mumbai, Orna Sagiv that the matter would be sorted out.

For Jews, the word remains sensitive as Adolf Hitler had killed more than six million Jews during World War-II. It is believed that the AMC acted under pressure from Israel consulate, which was not happy with media reports suggesting the existence of the word in board.

Claiming that there was nothing illegal and AMC acted without issuing a notice, Manish Chandani, the shop owner said, “AMC officials came to the shop around 12.15 pm on Monday and said that municipal commissioner had ordered the removal of board. When I asked about the copy of the order, they did not have it,” Chandani claimed. He said that despite having all permission to run the business under the word Hitler, officials forcefully removed it from the board.
 He alleged that even police refused to file a complaint. “As cops refused to accept my compliant, I submitted a complaint to the policy commissioner,” he said.

Both partners, Chandani and Rajesh Shah have decided to fight their case. “Government officials as well as an American had promised to compensate me for the expenses occurred in changing the name. As I didn’t receive the money, I delayed changing the name. We will fight for justice,” said Chandani.

When contacted municipal commissioner, Guruprasad Mohapatra said that civic body had received many emails protesting the name of shop. “The store owners had voluntarily agreed to remove the controversial billboard. But when they failed to do so, we removed it,” said Mohapatra. “It is a sensitive issue. We had received hundreds of e-mails demanding removal of the board,” he added.