Kolkata: An Indian man, who worked for a private company in Kolkata for the last six years, was unceremoniously dismissed for sporting a beard which he started growing during his Haj in May 2014.

Mohammad Esmail says his salary was cut in half the very month he returned from the pilgrimage sporting the beard and he was paid the other half in kind.

The friction between Esmail and the company continued until March this year, when he allegedly sought an appointment with the managing director of Adhunik Group of Industries, Manoj Agarwal.

When Esmail demanded his pending salary, he was allegedly thrown out of the office by guards. He says he was called a ‘terrorist’ by Agarwal.

“I was the blue-eyed boy of the company. But all that changed once I returned from Haj sporting a beard. The managing director of the company, Manoj Agarwal, said I was trying to threaten him and termed me a ‘terrorist’. It was extremely sad to hear that I was called as a ‘terrorist’ on my own soil,” Esmail said.

The employee then tried to approach various governmental bodies, including the Human Rights Commission, Minority Commission and even the chief minister’s office but no one responded to his calls.

He said he also filed a police complaint against Agarwal, but no measures were taken.

“The officer-in-charge of the police station even accompanied me to the office. But after an initial conversation with the authorities, he completely turned around and even threatened me and asked to leave the organisation with whatever compensation they offered. I am unwilling to accept and demand justice,” the victim said.

The company however, dismissed Esmail’s accusations and, in a written, statement termed him a “fraud”.

“Whatever Esmail has said is a lie. He had threatened us that he would ransack and vandalise our office. He is a fraud”, claimed Mahesh the brother of Manoj Agarwal.

Esmail is now approaching Calcutta High Court demanding justice and an apology for hurting his religious sentiments.

“The moment I approached the media, they called me asking to settle all dues. But for me this is no longer about the money but about getting justice. How can someone reject me because of my religious views,” he questioned.

Left parties have demanded a thorough investigation into the matter and action against the concerned police officer.

“The Trinamool Congress leadership tries to project that they are so pro-Muslim but this is the real condition of the community in the state. State government actually supports the hard-line Hindutva agenda of the BJP,” said Mohammad Salim of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).