North East Women Harassment: Malviya Nagar area located in Delhi sees racial harassment allegations against a UPSC aspirant and her northeastern roommates due to a minor dispute of AC dust.
A minor argument related to dust from an air conditioner installation in Delhi escalated into claims of racial harassment, with a UPSC aspirant from Arunachal Pradesh and her roommates alleging that their neighbours called them, as ‘Sex workers’ and targeted them because they are from Northeast.
This incident occurred on 20th February at a rented flat in Malviya Nagar, South Delhi. An FIR has been filed against the couple who were involved in argument, but no one is arrested so far.
Argument Over AC Installation Escalates
According to the women, dispute began around 3:30 pm when they hired an electrician to install an air conditioner in their apartment on fourth-floor. During this installation procedure, some amount of dust and debris fell onto the balcony of the flat, that lead to increase in comments from the neighbours Harsh Singh and his wife Ruby Jain.
One of the women told to news agency, ” We live on the fourth floor and they live on the first. We had called an electrician to install an AC, and while drilling a small hole for the unit, some dust fell onto neighbour’s balcony. It was a minor matter, but they started verbally abusing our electrician”.
She mentioned that, we apologised to them, and explained that it was not intentional. But they kept hurling more insults on us.”
North East Women Harassment: Viral video Malviya Nagar
A UPSC aspirant from Arunachal Pradesh and her roommates claimed that their neighbours verbally abused them over a minor AC installation dust issue. Women alleged that couple started to call them “sex workers” and targeted them for being from northeast.
Video also started circulating on social media show Ruby allegedly accusing them of their work of running a massage parlour, while Harsh reportedly made offensive remarks. Neighbours also called the police, while continued racial slurs in front of officers too. Another neighbour from Arunachal Pradesh who intervened between said she too was threatened.
Arunachal Women Complaint: FIR Under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
Delhi Police have registered an FIR against Harsh Singh and Ruby Jain at Malviya Nagar under sections 79, 351(2), 3(5), and 196 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including non-bailable section 196 for promoting argues based on racism and place of origin. No arrests have been made so far.
Advocate Reena Rai, will be representing women form Arunachal Pradesh, said that this incident highlights currently ongoing racial prejudice faced by Northeastern residents in Delhi. She added that women, already living far from home, were harassed instead of being made to feel safe and taunted.
Chief Minister of Meghalaya Conrad K Sangma also condemned this incident and discrimination, posting on X about the bias against Northeastern people must end.
