New Delhi: It seems that racial attacks on people hailing from North East India are now a non-stop affair. Every now and then, a case of attack on people hailing from the North East snakes its way to headlines.
On Saturday, three youth were brutally beaten up by a landlord’s son and his friends in Gurgaon. You ask why? Just because they played some music. Yes, playing music in India can land you in trouble.
Abishek Rai, and his two friends – Sagar Rai and Deb Kumar Subba – hailing from Teesta Valley of Gorkhaland were beaten up near the Sabji Mandi in Nathupur DLF Phase 3 Gurgaon on Saturday night.
The assault’s severity landed the three to AIIMS. Deb Kumar and Abishek were discharged a day after, but Sagar, who suffered serious head injuries, is still admitted in the hospital’s trauma centre.
According to a friend of the victims, the local police initially refused to register an FIR, asking the two groups to resolve the matter amicably. But, the news only came to light, when it was reported to Delhi Police for Northeast Folks.
A senior Gurgaon police officer said there was no racial angle to the assault.
Several witnesses, however, said the group threatened to send the three to China if they didn’t leave.
“On Saturday night (May 16) the three were playing music inside their house when the landlord, Naresh Kumar, and his two sons objected. This led to an altercation but the matter was resolved,” said their neighbour, who is also from Northeast.
But half an hour later, shortly after midnight, Naresh and his sons, accompanied by 10 local people, came back, dragged the three out of their house and assaulted them with hockey sticks and rods.
“It was a spontaneous attack and not a planned one. There are around hundreds of such cases happening in Gurgaon, of which three to four are on people hailing from North East. So you can’t say this is a racial attack.†Navdeep Singh Virk, Commissioner of Police, Gurgaon, said.
“In such a big city, conflicts are bound to happen. We are investigating the issue and culprits will be punished,†he added.
Meanwhile members of All Assam Gorkha Student Union Support Team, New Delhi have planned a rally from Sahara Mall to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) office.
“We want to press Sec 307 and 153 A on the culprits as they are framed under very weak sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) to ensure either they go scot free or are very lightly penalised,†P P Sharma, a member of All Assam Gorkha Student Union Support Team, New Delhi, said.
“I am deeply troubled. I have spoken to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) unit in Delhi and they are monitoring the situation on our behalf. All necessary help will be given to the youths. I’ll speak to home minister Rajnath Singh too,” GJM Chief Bimal Gurung said.
The ghastly incident has a striking resemblance with a racist attack which took place on March 30, 2014 in Gurgaon’s Sikanderpur area where a mob of 15-20 locals beat up six persons from NE with hockey sticks and iron rods.
The mob, while shouting racist slogans, selectively targeted the Northeastern community after a Manipuri student had an altercation with his landlord.
Despite attempts to curb the rising cases of racism and crime against people of North East residing in different parts of Gurgaon, the Centre it seems has failed miserably.
Last year, Minister of State, Home Affairs Kiran Rijiju, launched a first-of-its-kind special helpline number – 0124-2301559 – exclusively for the safety and security of the NorthEast populace.
The helpline number was meant to allow people from the NorthEast to register all sorts of complaints, including those concerning racism and harassment, directly with police.