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IT boss seeks £50,000 after 'Bin Laden photo taunts'
Tim Stewart7 Nov 2008
AN Asian IT manager is seeking £50,000 compensation after a former colleague faked photos of him sitting in a cave with Osama bin Laden and displayed them in the office.
Vinod Rajdev, 58, of Kingsbury, claimed workmates at software provider Civica taunted him that he was an al Qaeda terrorist "mastermind".
Mr Rajdev complained that his face was superimposed on that of Bin Laden's right-hand-man Ayman al Zawahiri in a notorious photo of the two terror chiefs.
The married father-of-three said he arrived at his desk to find two mock-up photos showing him alongside Bin Laden with an AK47 rifle by his side.
In papers submitted to Bedford Employment Tribunal, Mr Rajdev also alleged he was called a "Paki" and "corner shop" by colleagues.
Mr Rajdev, who is of Indian origin, is claiming constructive unfair dismissal, and religious and race discrimination. Civica denied the claims, saying the photo was part of office "banter" and that Mr Rajdev had joined in jokes that he was a terrorist leader.
Mr Rajdev claimed the abuse began in November 2005 at Civica's Luton office, where he was a team leader. He quit in November last year, claiming bosses ignored his complaints.
The case will be heard next year.
Reader views (11)
- Dave, Kent
Already have the uniform!
See, I can even take the mickey out of myself. Not so difficult is it?
- Frank, Home Counties, England, 07/11/2008 16:11
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If only I’d had fun with someone at work who was a different ethnicity maybe I could have got some extra money too.
- Ben, London, W1, 07/11/2008 14:54
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My best friend started calling me Adolf a few years ago, because she reckoned I was a bit of a dictator. It caught on and now her entire family and one or two other people call me this too. My friend is Jewish so I suppose I could have misinterpreted the whole thing and demanded compensation and counselling but hey! guess what? I've got a sense of humour so I take it in the humorously affectionate manner it was intended.
- Sarah Bradshaw, Enfield, Middx, 07/11/2008 14:50
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Here we go again!
- P I Staker, London, 07/11/2008 14:33
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I found this hilarious... initially. However after reflection, there is a darker side. In this society where an innocent like John Charles is shot down, what's would happen if this photo got into the hands of the Met or Anti-terrorist agency? Would they see the funny side? I think not...
Don't generalise Frank. Some minorities have more of a sense of humour than the fellow countryman (Goodness Gracious Me / Bend It Like Beckham / East Is East anyone?!)
- Sanjay, Hounslow, UK, 07/11/2008 14:30
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Frank,
You won't mind having your face superimposed on that of Adolf Hitler then?
- Dave, Kent, 07/11/2008 13:53
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Oh do bugger off Frank you old nazi. This bloke isn't even Pakistani - he's indian and somehow unlikely to be an Al Qaeda terrorist. And calling someone 'Paki' and 'corner shop' is hardly mild office banter, more the preserve of the football terraces or the playground twenty years ago.
- Squiz, Islington, 07/11/2008 13:28
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A clear case of racial discrimination. I would not want to work at Civica after hearing about this story.
Frank,
Would you find it funny if your colleagues called you Hitler on a regular basis and created mock ups of you in a nazi outfit? Maybe you would seeing as your racist attitude is reflected in your comment... you should be working at Civica.
- John, Home Counties, 07/11/2008 13:24
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>> saying the photo was part of office "banter" and that Mr Rajdev had joined in jokes that he was a terrorist leader
Yeah right, that seems likely.
- Adam, Harrow, UK, 07/11/2008 13:18
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Frank,
Not the most helpful of suggestions really is it. Maybe we should just send them all home and everything would be ok? The reason why we may be having such issues is because of "pocket racists"　just like you. If you were working in a place where you were in the minority and someone superimposed your picture on the body of the worlds most reviled man, you being of such good sense of humour, would just love it off I take it. What you are forgetting is that the British economy would fall to pieces without minorities. Why don't you go back to fortifyiing your caravan, putting on the formby 78's and forget about living in 21st century Britain. Comments like yours are whats making this country into the divided mess it is now
- Mark, Muswell Hill, 07/11/2008 12:13
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Simple really, do not employ minorities. They do not have a sense of humour and you are opening yourself up to all sorts of legal actions.
Just look at the Met.
- Frank, Home Counties, England, 07/11/2008 10:05
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