NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, MARCH 23
The Union Home Ministry has asked all states to take action against those who harass people from the Northeast by linking them with the novel coronavirus.
It said such incidents are racially discriminatory and painful to the victims.
The ministry’s communication comes a day after a woman from Manipur alleged that an unidentified man spat on her and called her “corona” in northwest Delhi’s Vijay Nagar area.
In Ahmedabad, acting on an anonymous call, police had picked up nine Naga youths from their office on Friday and kept them at a coronavirus observation home. Thanks to social media activists, they were allowed to go home on Saturday.
In a letter to chief secretaries of all states and Union territories, the ministry said it had come to its notice that people from the Northeast have been facing harassment after the occurrence of the deadly COVID-19 in the country.
There have been cases where people, including athletes and sportspersons, from the Northeast, have been harassed by linking them to COVID-19.
“This is racially discriminatory, inconvenient and painful to them. It is requested that all law enforcement agencies in your State/UT may be sensitised to take appropriate action in cases of harassment when these are reported,” it said.
Also read: Mistaken identity: Despite no travel, no symptom, Naga youths forced to spend 24 hours in Ahmedabad quarantine
