No jewellery to customers wearing burqa, mask, veil in Varanasi: Traders body

Local unit of Uttar Pradesh Jewellers Association on Saturday (January 10, 2026) imposed a ban on the sale of jewellery to customers wearing a veil, burqa, mask or helmet, citing security reasons.

This decision has been taken in view of the incidents of theft, robbery, and fraud that have occurred in several districts, they claimed.

Kamal Singh, the district president of UPJA here, said, "We will not sell jewellery items to customers whose faces are covered. If a person with a covered face commits a crime, their identity cannot be established. For this, we have put up posters in front of our shops, which state that entry into the shop is prohibited while wearing a mask, burqa, helmet, or veil."

Mr. Singh said that they only want their own safety. If a customer comes wearing a hijab, they should uncover their face upon entering the shop so that the jewellers can feel safe.

Satya Narayan Seth, president of the UPJA, said that similar posters have been put up in front of jewellers' shops in several districts of the state, including Jhansi.

Mr. Seth said that there are thousands of jewellery shops in Varanasi. Everyone is facing problems with people covering their faces.

The association is not opposing any person's religion. It is doing this only for jewellers' own safety. Muslim customers can come wearing a burqa, but they should remove it before entering the shop so that their identity can be confirmed.

Shahid, a jeweller from the Lohta area, said that it is wrong to refuse entry to customers wearing burqas. Such a refusal will drive away customers. Asking a woman wearing a burqa to remove it would be insulting.

He said that theft committed while wearing a burqa is an exception, just like the incident where the Chief Minister of Bihar pulled a woman's burqa.

"If there is a female employee in the shop, she can see the woman's face, but a male employee cannot remove the woman's burqa to see her face; this is not right," he said.

Meanwhile, government advocate Rana Sanjeev Singh commented on the matter, saying that this is not a wrong act.

Recently, several incidents have surfaced on social media and in the media where women wearing burqas were caught on CCTV cameras stealing from jewellery shops and their identities could not be established due to the veil, he said.

Mr. Singh added that everyone has the right to their own security. There is nothing wrong with that.