Following reports of harassment of people from Northeast after COVID-19 outbreak, , the Union home ministry has asked law-enforcing agencies to take action against anybody found harassing people from the region.
The directive comes after several incidents of racial discrimination against people from Northeast living in Delhi have been reported following the outbreak of coronavirus.
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The directive has been issued to the chief secretaries and DGPs of all states and union territories by RK Pandey, deputy secretary (NE-II), government of India.
Also read: COVID-19: NESO condemns racial discriminations against people from Northeast
“It has come to notice of the ministry that people from North East have been facing harassment after the occurrence of COVID-19 in the count,” the directive said.
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“There have been cases where people of North East including the athletes and sports persons have been harassed by linking them to COVID-19,” it said.
Stating that “this is racially discriminatory, inconvenient and painful to them”, the Union home ministry asked the state governments to sensitise all the law-enforcing agencies to take appropriate action if any cases of harassment are reported.
In an incident of racial discrimination, one girl from Northeast was attacked by an unidentified person in Delhi’s Vijaya Nagar area.
The Delhi Police registered a case at the Vijaya Nagar police station under Section 509 under IPC.
Police said the girl was spat on by a motor bike-borne assailant at around 9:30 pm on Sunday.
It was alleged that following the outbreak of coronavirus, people from Northeast are being targeted in the name of the virus.
Also read: COVID-19: NSF urges Nagaland government to assist Naga students staying outside state
On March 3, two students from the Northeast were attacked by six men near the Delhi University campus.
It may be mentioned that many of the students from the Northeast have left their hostels in Delhi following the outbreak of COVID-19.
Reacting to the incidents of harassment on Northeast people, BJP’s national general secretary Ram Madhav tweeted: “Instances of miscreants targeting n humiliating NE people in Delhi in d name of Coronavirus hv come to notice. It’s tragic. It is time to help each other, not harass. Let’s care 4 our own people from d North East India, help them. They live 1000s of miles away from their families.”
Instances of miscreants targeting n humiliating NE people in Delhi in d name of Coronavirus hv come to notice. It’s tragic. It is time to help each other, not harass. Let’s care 4 our own people from d North East India, help them. They live 1000s of miles away from their families pic.twitter.com/MwFnGqQUCF
— Ram Madhav (@rammadhav_rss) March 23, 2020