After he consumed beef that had been erroneously labelled as a lamb by a supermarket, he is demanding that the store pay for his trip to India for ‘cleansing’ New Delhi: An Indian-origin man in New Zealand is hogging the limelight for a very peculiar reason. After he consumed beef that had been erroneously labelled as a lamb by a supermarket, he is demanding that the store pays for his trip to India for ‘cleansing.’ Jaswinder Paul bought meat labelled lamb roast from a Countdown outlet in Blenheim in September last year. However, after consuming it, he realised that it was not lamb but beef. The cow is considered sacred by Hindus in India. After the incident, Paul approached the supermarket, upon which the authorities at Countdown admitted their mistake, apologised and offered US$200 as compensation, a New Zealand-based website stuff.co.nz reported.

‘Will have to perform purification rituals for eating beef’

Paul, however, was dissatisfied with the compensation offered and demanded the store fund his trip back to India. He asserted that his religion did not permit him to eat beef and he would have to return to India to perform sacred ‘purification’ rituals for the next four to six weeks to maintain his faith as a Hindu. He approached the Countdown store again in February and was offered the same — an apology and US$200. He is now considering taking the matter to court.

Paul owns a barber shop

The Indian-origin man moved to New Zealand two decades ago and owns a barber shop called ‘Headmaster Barbers.’ He told stuff.co.nz that he would have to sell his business in order to be able to afford a ticket home. And therefore, he wants the authorities responsible for the fiasco to cough up the money.