At a time when the nation is already reeling from the rising number of COVID-19 positive cases that have exceeded 70,000, yet another case of a person from the Northeast being subject to racist attack has come to the fore.
According to reports, Chong Hoi Misao, a 20-year-old girl hailing from Manipur, was brutally attacked by some locals from Faizapur, Gurugram in Haryana just for passing through the locality on Sunday afternoon, 10 May. “She was there to meet a friend and have lunch,” said Joel, a close friend of the victim.
While returning, Misao was stopped by an elderly woman who rudely interrupted her from passing through the road, stating that it was private property. She abused her in a racially-charged tone deterring her from passing by the street in front of her house, said Joel.
When Misao requested her to speak politely, the girl was again met with verbal abuse and was allegedly called ‘corona’. She then said she would take the matter to the police, if need be. To this, the woman replied, “Police are on our side.”
After the altercation, all the family members of the woman, which included the daughter-in-law and her son, came forward and started hitting her with sticks. Some of the sticks even landed on Misao’s head which rendered her unconscious. She was then rescued by some local people who then called up the police.
“Just when she thought there would be justice, the police officials told Misao to compromise,” said Joel. A distressed Misao then called the North East Support Centre & Helpline (NESCH) and its members reached the place of attack around 8:30 pm.
“We then contacted the DCP and requested to take immediate action,” said Nambu Riamei, a member of NESCH. After that, the members took her to immediate medical care and a woman police official went to take her statement and lodged an FIR, added Riamei.
“Since it was late at night, we then took her to our safe house shelter, north of her place, as she was too scared to go back to her place,” Riamei said. The team then went back to her place, packed all of her belongings, and took them to the safe house.
The next day, they received an FIR in their WhatsApp number, which was incomplete. “We then went to the police station and added some few more sections in the incomplete FIR and added the Sections 323, 34, 341 and SC/ST Atrocities Act,” Riamei added.
Section 323 stands to punish those who cause harm voluntarily, 34 stands for a criminal act (here hitting her with sticks) done by several persons with common intention, and 341 stands for wrongful restraint.
As of now, the victim is seeking medical treatment and is waiting for her CT scan results.
(This article was originally published on EastMojo, and has been republished with permission)
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