New Delhi: Taking cognisance of reports which said a woman from the Northeast was called ‘corona’, subjected to racial abuse and brutally attacked in Faizapur, Gurugram while she was passing through a locality, the National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the chief secretary of Haryana and the police commissioner of Gurugram.The Commission said reports noted that a 20-year-old woman hailing from Manipur was subjected to racial discrimination and attacked last week. It also referred to alleged lapses on the part of the police in dealing with the matter.The human rights panel said while the woman was eventually saved by some people, “the police officials who reached the spot asked the victim to compromise.”The Commission notice also said that the victim then called the North East Support Centre & Helpline (NESCH). It was only when NESCH members reached the spot late on May 10 evening that the statement of the victim was recorded for an FIR.Holding out that the issue amounted to a “violation of human rights of the victim,” the panel also observed that “the police instead of initiating the requisite legal process, asked the victim to compromise.”“Apparently, the police personnel failed to do justice with the situation and take necessary action. They should have realised the impact of trauma and mental agony, the woman was undergoing due to the tragic incident,” it further said.The notice has called for a “detailed report” within four weeks along with status of the investigation being conducted by the police after registration of the FIR and relief/counselling provided by the authorities to the victim. The Commission said it would also like to know about the condition of the victim and the status of the medical treatment being provided to her by the district authorities.The NHRC also observed that it is “disgusting: that a woman from the Northeast has been subjected to racial discrimination and physical assault by a local family in the National Capital Region of her own country.Also read: Coronavirus and Anti-Asian Racism: How the Language of Disease Produces Hate and ViolenceGoing into the details of the case, the Commission said as per media reports, the victim was stopped by an elderly woman, who rudely interrupted her from passing through the road stating that it was a private property. The old woman reportedly abused her in a racial tone and as the altercation started the victim was called “corona”.In the meantime, it said, the other family members of the elderly woman also came out and started beating the victim with sticks. The woman, who was also hit on the head, was somehow saved by some local people and the police were called.Ever since the COVID-19 virus spread from China, cases of racial abuse have increased in India and other parts of the world. Soon after the spread of the virus in India in March, a 40-year-old man was arrested in Delhi for allegedly spitting paan at a woman and calling her “coronavirus” in Vijay Nagar in Northwest Delhi.After a spate of such incidents, the Ministry of Home Affairs had written to all states and union territories, asking them to take appropriate action against those who are harassing people from the Northeast by linking them with COVID-19.
