Act now, make capital safe for northeast women: Activists

NEW DELHI - Aghast over the rape of yet another woman from the northeast in Delhi, activists from the region Thursday called for steps to make the capital safe for northeast women and will meet senior Delhi Police officials Friday to press their demands.

A 30-year-old woman from Mizoram was gangraped in the capital after she was dropped back home by her office cab early Wednesday. The woman, a BPO employee, was abducted by four-five men from Dhaula Kuan in south Delhi and gangraped in a moving tempo goods carrier.

The men then drove all the way to Mangolpuri in northwest Delhi and dumped her there.

“We are very disturbed with the whole incident. The night the incident happened, I got a call from some friends of the victim and I immediately called the police. Despite that, help came very late and nothing could be done to avert the incident,” said Madhu Chandra, spokesperson of the Northeast Support Centre and Helpline.

The victim was with her friend who managed to escape from the clutches of the men. The two work in a Gurgaon call centre.

“The victim is being looked after by the Mizoram Welfare Association here and two of her relatives have come down to be with her. She is in a state of shock,” Chandra told IANS.

“I spoke to Delhi Police Commissioner B.K. Gupta who assured me of all help and has directed Joint Commissioner of Police (southern range) Amulya Patnaik to meet me and some other members tomorrow (Friday) to discuss the matter of harassment of northeastern women,” he said.

In the list of demands put forth to the joint secretary is a special helpline for the northeastern community living in Delhi, headed by a police officer, preferably from the region itself.

“We will also ask for a police patrolling team at night who will keep a check in the “unsafe” zones of Delhi. We have made a list of some of those areas from where repeated cases of crime are reported. And thirdly, we want a list of registered cases related to racial attack on northeastern people,” Chandra said.

Among the areas identified by the Northeast Support Centre as unsafe are Munirka, Mahipalpur, Moti Bagh, Mohammadpur, Nanakpura, New Friends Colony and Delhi University campus, among others.

“Last year, there were two cases of harassment against northeastern women after which there was a lot of hue and cry and everyone, including Delhi chief minister (Sheila Dikshit), assured us of immediate action in the form of helplines and special cells,” Chandra said.

“A year from then, nothing has been done. All promises have remained unfulfilled. I hope this time they keep their promise and actually do something to make the city safer for the northeastern community,” he added.