By IANS
Brussels : A Belgian garment company has apologized and withdrawn from circulation an undergarment with the picture of a Hindu goddess, following strong protests from the Indian community here.
The Brussels-based firm DOD, in an email to news agency INEPNEXT, said Monday: "We are very sorry for having offended you (Indian community), but not being conscious of the origin of the picture, we didn't do it on purpose.
"Of course all these items will be sent back to where they came from and today (Monday) I will ask the shop to take them out of the shelves."
The garment depicted the pictures of Lakhsmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. The Association of Trading in the Saint-Josse Municipality of Brussels had lodged a protest with DOD.
"Please accept our deepest apologies, we respect all religions and didn't mean any harm," the email added.
A lady official at DOD told INEPNEXT DOD has 17 outlets in Brussels, but the offending undergarment was on sale only in three shops.