Home News National Video And Audio Evidence Reveal Peyush Bansal’s Lenskart Penalized Hindus For Wearing...

Video And Audio Evidence Reveal Peyush Bansal’s Lenskart Penalized Hindus For Wearing Bindi, Kumkum, Kalawa

By
The Commune
-
Hijab Allowed, Bindi Barred: Lenskart Policy Sparks Nationwide Outrage; Founder Peyush Bansal Claims 2026 Document ‘Outdated’

Days after the Lenskart controversy regarding its biased style guide that was lenient towards Muslims and harsh on Hindus broke, video and audio evidence have surfaced that reveal how Lenskart had in reality penalized Hindus for wearing bindi, kalawa, and kumkum.

CEO Peyush Bansal, widely known as a Shark Tank India investor, publicly claimed the guide was “inaccurate and outdated” and had been withdrawn on February 7. That claim has since been directly contradicted by video audit footage from 8 April 2026, showing Lenskart still penalising employees for wearing a bindi – two full months after the supposed withdrawal. The rules outlived the document.

Employee Testimonials

Zeel Soghasia, Gujarat – A candidate who received a job call from Lenskart travelled to the Vesu area of Surat for an interview. He was told at the interview itself that his Shikha (the sacred tuft of hair kept by many Hindu men) and Tika (tilak/forehead mark) were not permitted. He then proceeded to Lenskart’s training centre in New Mumbai. On the very next day, he was removed from training. The reason given: he had not cut his Shikha and had not removed his Tikka-Chandlo. The company’s position was explicit — “If you do not cut your Shikha and do not remove the Tika-Chandlo, we cannot give you a job.” He was additionally told that any religion-related tattoo on his hand would also need to be removed.

Employee Audio Testimonial

Female employee, Andhra Pradesh – A woman employee who worked for three and a half years at Lenskart made a detailed and specific testimony. She stated that for approximately the past year, the company has operated with openly differential standards by religion:

  • Hindu employees are told not to come wearing a Tilak, not to wear Kumkum, and to remove religious threads (taayattu) from their wrists
  • During monthly video audits conducted by external auditors, Hindu employees wearing a bindi are penalised – either forced to remove it before entering the store or removed by the auditors themselves
  • On non-audit days, managers directly confront Hindu employees: “Hindus are not supposed to wear bindi – why are you coming with it?”
  • Muslim employees, by contrast, are not subjected to these restrictions. When Muslim employees do not wish to wear nail polish (a mandatory part of the uniform) for religious reasons before marriage, the company exempts them – even absorbing audit point deductions rather than enforcing the rule on them
  • On leave policy: only Muslims receive a week off for Ramzan. Hindu festivals including Ugadi yield no leave. The company’s stated position to employees, delivered to their faces: “Hindus have too many festivals, so we won’t provide for you.” Christians receive leave for Christmas. This policy, she confirms, applies pan-India across all Lenskart stores – verified by staff across locations

The Style Guide and The Lie That Didn’t Hold

Lenskart CEO Peyush Bansal had previously claimed, when a discriminatory style guide was leaked publicly, that the document was “inaccurate and outdated” and that the company had withdrawn it on February 7. The claim was designed to contain the damage and draw a line under the controversy.

It has not held. Video audit footage from 8 April 2026 – two months after Bansal’s claimed withdrawal shows Lenskart still conducting store audits and penalising employees for wearing a bindi. The February 7 withdrawal, if it ever happened, changed nothing on the ground. The audits continued. The penalties continued. The differential enforcement continued.

The question being asked publicly is direct: if the style guide was withdrawn on February 7, why were employees being docked points for wearing a bindi on April 8?

Blocking Emails, Gagging Employees

Following the spread of the employee testimonials on social media, Lenskart took a further step: the company blocked access to store mail and employee emails for all employees across the board – cutting off internal communication channels at a moment when employees were sharing experiences externally.

If a company had nothing to hide, why would it go to such lengths to gag employees? Is Peyush Bansal trying to hide something?

The Halal Certification Question

An additional detail has emerged in the public discourse around this controversy: Lenskart holds a Halal certification. The certification itself is not illegal, but placed alongside the documented evidence of differential treatment – Hindu symbols banned, Muslim religious exemptions freely granted, Hindu festival leaves denied while Ramzan leave is institutionalised; it raises a legitimate question about the ideological framework within which Lenskart’s internal compliance culture has been built.

A company that is Halal certified, bans the bindi and tilak from its store floors, exempts Muslim employees from dress code rules, denies Hindu employees festival leave, and then blocks internal email access when employees begin speaking out publicly — the pattern, taken together, is not easily explained as a series of isolated administrative oversights.

Subscribe to our channels on WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and YouTube to get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR