NEW DELHI: This has been one of the most terrifying months for students from the Northeast who are in the capital to study or for work. While the murder of the 19-year-old (indigenous) girl by an IIT Delhi student has shocked Delhiites, there have been other serious crimes, including hurt and molestation, committed against them in the last few days.
On October 12, a (indigenous) girl from Northeast was targeted at Sarojini Nagar and was being forcibly dragged inside a Maruti van near the M-block. But the presence of mind shown by the victim employed with a leading five-star hotel saved the day. After she raised a hue and cry, passersby beat up one of the persons who tried kidnapping her.
On October 17, a indigenous couple from Nagaland was allegedly beaten up by some inebriated youths at Safdarjung Enclave after the husband protested against their "rude'' behaviour. The same day, a five-year-old girl was allegedly molested by her teacher while attending a tuition class.
A few months earlier in April, a six-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered by a neighbour. Her dead body was recovered from a nearby water tank.
However, even after repeated attacks the police has done little for the security of these people who feel they are "treated as second rung citizens''.
Police commissioner Y S Dadwal recently asked for all crimes committed against people from the Northeast to be given top priority he had asked three DCPs from east, south and north to act as nodal officers so that women felt safe. Yet, it was in the same south district that the local police at Safdarjung Enclave took a lot of time before lodging a cross-FIR. This FIR came only after protests from the Northeast community and intervention of senior district officials.
The Northeast Support Centre claims that almost half the women sexually harassed in the capital and its neighbourhood are from the northeast. Madhu Chandra, the man behind the Northeast Support Centre and Helpline, a help centre dedicated to youth from the Northeast living in Delhi and NCR, said they were flooded with complaints
related to sexual harassment.
"According to our own research and media reports, nearly 50% of sexual harassment cases involve women from the Northeast who comprise more than 85,000 of Delhi's population,'' he said. A senior officer at the police headquarters said, "We are concerned about these crime. All corrective steps have been taken and we hope to treat each case with as much importance.''
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Girls-from-NE-soft-target-in-city/articleshow/5166105.cms