They think we’re easy target: Northeast youth in Delhi

NEW DELHI - On Dec 6, a 19-year-old boy from Assam was beaten up by a group of unidentified men on a bike around 12.30 p.m. in south Delhi’s Netaji Nagar area. It was one of many assaults that youths from the northeast suffer in the capital - and many of these don’t even come to the notice of the police.

“After my college got over, I was waiting for an auto at the bus stop when around five to six teenage boys on bikes went past, one of them snatched my mobile. I chased them. Out of the six, at least four tried to assault me, hitting me on the face with a blunt object. But I managed to get back my mobile,” said the victim, a student of the Delhi College of Arts and Commerce.

But he did not register a police complaint. “I did not have any numbers, the boys were masked and the people around just stood there and nobody came forward. What saddens me is that nobody bothered to help, I was alone, it could have happened to anybody, but I was an easy target; they think we are an easy target,”the disappointed victim told IANS, not willing to be identified.

On Dec 5, a 20-year-old girl from Manipur, studying at the prestigious Lady Shri Ram College, was molested by a cab driver in broad daylight in the presence of three of her college friends. A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged in New Friends Colony and the accused was arrested.

“There were four of us who called a cab to go to south Delhi. I was sitting on the front seat while my three friends were at the back. The driver while changing gears tried to touch me, initially I thought it was unintentional so I distanced myself more, but he continued. I don’t know why they think we will allow them to touch us,” said the angry victim (name withheld).

On Dec 3, a 20 something call centre employee from Manipur was molested and verbally abused when an attempt to kidnap and rape did not go as planned. An FIR was lodged, but the four African nationals accused in the case are absconding.

All these incidents have happened after the gangrape of a 30-year-old BPO employee from Mizoram in Dhaula Kuan Nov 24. She was abducted, gangraped and later abandoned in the city around 1 a.m.

According to the North-East Support Centre, the Statistic on Racial/Gender-Based Violence Record against North East People, at least 30 cases of molestation have been reported to them, of which seven were in 2010, eight in 2009 and 15 cases between 2005 and 2008.

“Out of the 30 cases reported, only 15 were registered at various police stations in the city. Many of the victims went back to their hometowns after experiencing such trauma. Also they were scared that they will be harassed more by the cops,” said Madhu Chandra, spokesperson of the North-East Support Centre.

Until mid-2009, boys and girls from the northeartern states of India would even find themselves discriminated against at police stations.

“It was very difficult for any northeastern boy or girl to get a complaint registered in a police station. Their complaints were denied and delayed. In many cases, the FIRs were not registered without pressure from higher police officers and media pressure,” added Chandra.

In 2009, a zero tolerance notice was issued to Delhi Police saying any complaints by boys and girls from the northeast should be registered without delay.

“Now the problem has reached another level: though the complaints are registered, the police take a lot of time to take action, in some cases there are no arrests and in cases where the culprits are detained, they are let off in a few days’ time. There are hardly any cases which have been disposed of,” Chandra told IANS.

There were some 80 cases in total including molestation, rape, beating up boys, beating up girls, murder, attempt to rape, misbehaviour, non-payment of rent which were reported to the North-East Support Centre, out of which around 30-35 cases were registered by police.

“Out of the registered cases not even five cases are disposed of. Sometimes if the arrest happens, then the accused is not taken to the court, in many cases the victims are forced to change their statement citing the example of a rape case of a domestic worker which took place in Gurgaon where the victim was harassed by court officials and the police. Sometimes the evidences are manipulated in such a way that the victim doesn’t get a proper judgement,” said Chandra.

(Sugandha Pathak can be contacted at sugandha.p@ians.in )