Northeast Community in Delhi Quite Vulnerable

15 cases this year `tip of iceberg`

By Durgesh Nandan Jha

New Delhi, Nov 26 : The gangrape of a 30-year-old woman from Mizoram early Wednesday morning once again highlights the dangers that women from northeast face in the capital.

And despite repeated incidents of rape, molestation and racial discrimination, the police and the state administration have completely failed to curb such cases over the years.

Racial attack and crime against people from the community continues unabated in the city, says Madhu Chandra, spokesperson of the NGO Northeast Support Center.

"So far this year, more than 15 serious cases of molestation and abuse against people from the northeast have been reported. In 2009, 39 cases, including eight cases of molestation, one rape case and 20 cases of boys being beaten thrashed, were reported,'' he added.

Activists say that the number of cases reported to the police is just a tip of the iceberg. "In 2009, when a 19-year-old Naga girl was murdered by an IIT PhD scholar in Munirka, the police said they will start special helpline number for northeast people. But it never happened.

Patrolling services during night in areas populated by people from northeast Dhaula Kuan, Munirka, Mahipalpur, Kotla Mubarakpur, Gandhi Vihar and North Campus is still not up to the mark. Also, in the Delhi Police (Amendment) Bill 2010, there is no mention of any special measures to check crime against people from the northeast,'' Chandra said.

Jasmine Rupmini, a postgraduate student of Delhi University who belongs to Tripura, said that the police wakes up only when there is a rape or someone is killed in broad daylight. "But we face harassment and discrimination every moment, every day. Sometimes we reply but mostly we ignore,'' she said.

Boveio Poukai Dao, general secretary of the Naga Students' Association, said that the local police is not very supportive when it comes to registering complaint or acting against the accused. "We are told to behave in a certain manner or dress `responsibly'. Rather than acting against the offenders, police preach us and try to dissuade us from filing complaint,'' said Dao.

Another activist said that since the Centre has failed to provide job opportunities in northeastern states, people migrate to Delhi and face humiliation. "The private sector has also not invested in these states due to insurgency,'' Dao said.