'Discrimination Must Stop': Meghalaya CM Sangma After Women From Arunachal Allege Racial Abuse In Delhi

New Delhi: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Sunday condemned the alleged racist harassment of three women from Arunachal Pradesh in Delhi, stating that discrimination against people from the Northeast “must stop”.

Taking to social media platform X, Sangma wrote, "Discrimination against North East People must stop."

His remarks followed a February 20 incident in which the women were allegedly subjected to racial slurs and verbal abuse by their neighbours during a dispute at their residential building in the national capital. A video of the confrontation has surfaced on social media.

What Happened On Feb 20

The three women had reportedly called an electrician to their fourth-floor flat to install an air conditioner, police said.

During the installation, dust and debris fell onto the first floor, triggering objections from neighbours. An argument ensued, and soon escalated, with the neighbours allegedly hurling derogatory remarks, and targeting the women for their north-eastern identity. The neighbours have been identified as Harsh Singh and Ruby Jain as per the complaint.

It started with the man living downstairs verbally abusing the electrician, following which the girls said they apologised and explained that it was not intentional. However, the argument did not stop there.

Objectionable Exchange of Words Followed

Visuals from the altercation showed the accused woman Ruby allegedly accusing the women of engaging in sex work, while the man, namely Harsh, claiming that they run a massage parlour.

In the video, Ruby can also be heard referring to the girls as, “Rs 500 mei massage parlour mei kaam karne waali dhandhewali", and asking, “Are you sitting here to do business? Have you opened a massage parlour at home?”

The accused woman was also heard saying that Harsh is the son of a "big politician".

The woman from Arunachal further alleged that when she confronted Harsh about his remark, his wife made a more obscene comment. “When I asked him why he was saying that, his wife asked me to go and sleep with him,” she said. In the video, Ruby could also be heard alleging that people from North-East show signs of aging earlier than expected as they ‘indulge in drug abuse’. 

A police officer can be seen in the video, as he tries to simmer down the situation. 

FIR Registered Against Couple

An FIR has reportedly been registered at the Malviya Nagar Police Station under Sections 79 (word intended to insult a woman’s modesty), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 3(5) (common intention) and 196 (promoting enmity on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence or language) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Out of the above, Section 196 is a is a non-bailable and cognizable offence. However, no arrests related to the incident have been made so far.

No physical injuries were reported, but the complainants have alleged mental harassment, criminal intimidation, and humiliation, police reportedly said.

'Very Much Indians'

“Instead of talking about the main issue, they started targeting Northeast,” one of the women said referring to the incident. The women have sought an apology, claiming that the remarks were directed to them due to their north-eastern identity, implying an insult to the entire community. 

"Because we look a certain way and our Hindi is not very strong, people here perceive that we are not from India. But such people are uncivilised. We are very much Indians. I want justice. Verbal abuse is also very much of a crime. No individual from North East should have to go through such behaviour again," she added. 

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