Delhi's Malayali community on Wednesday staged a protest here to condemn the police 'raid' at Kerala House on a complaint that beef was being served there.
About 100 protesters gathered and formed a human chain in protest against the "raid".
"Delhi Police raided Kerala House. This is not acceptable. Delhi Police chief Bassi did his duty, but he should also see that no trouble is done to the general public," Delhi Malayali Association general secretary C. Chandran said.
Representatives of the Student Federation of India (SFI) also took part in the protest outside Kerala House here.
The protesters shouted slogans like 'right to food is right to live' and displayed placards reading 'intolerance to the culture and tradition of others is a cancer now'.
SFI president Sivadasan said: "This is not just a question of beef eating. This is against the culture."
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"How can police be so irresponsible? They don't have time to handle thefts, but have time for things like these," said Mathew Jacob, a teacher.
"It is indeed a serious issue. Day before yesterday they raided Kerala House on the suspicion of cow meat consumption without verifying. Tomorrow they can raid my house, my kitchen as well," he added.
C. Prathapan of the Delhi-based Citizen Rights Foundation, expressing anger over the incident, said intolerance towards other cultures was on the rise.
"The intolerance to the culture and tradition of others is a cancer now. It was the continuation of incidents that happened in Dadri and Jammu and Kashmir. These type of activities will destroy the unity and secularism of our country," Prathapan said.
"Kerala people, including majority of Hindus, Muslims and Christians, are fond of beef items without any religious conflicts. Kerala House is an extension of Kerala with all its culture and tradition," Prathapan added.
Saleeq Ahmed, a first year B.A Psychology student from Zakir Hussain College, DU, said he got to know about the "human chain" through social media.
"We came to know about this event at Kerala House through Facebook. So I decided to join the movement. Beef eating is our right. It is our food. To make this clear we have gathered here," he said.
On Monday, some 20 policemen 'raided' the Kerala House after the a fringe right-wing outfit Hindu Sena alleged that beef (cow meat) was being served on its premises.
Later, it turned out that carabeef (buffalo meat) was being served in the Kerala House canteen.
On Wednesday, the menu board at the canteen had the dish listed as 'Meat Fry and Meat Curry (Buffalo)'.