Shillong, March 9: Conrad Sangma, Chief Minister of Meghalaya, on March 9 strongly condemned an alleged racial assault on two people from the Northeast in New Delhi, describing the incident as “sickening” and urging authorities to take stringent action against those responsible.
The alleged attack took place near the Saket District Court Complex in the Malviya Nagar area on Sunday evening. According to reports, a young woman from Manipur and a transgender person from Assam were allegedly assaulted by a group of men in a park, raising fresh concerns about the safety of Northeastern residents in the national capital.
Reacting to the incident, Sangma said he was angered by repeated attacks on people from the Northeast living in mainland India.
“Racial bullying should not be accepted as the new normal and we must act against it. Urge the authorities to take stringent action,” he wrote on the social media platform X.
According to preliminary accounts, the victims were taking a walk in a park near the court complex when a group of youths allegedly began making racially derogatory remarks. When the woman objected, the situation reportedly escalated into a confrontation.
The victims alleged that the group physically assaulted them, punching them and striking them with belts while using abusive slurs. One of the assailants allegedly used derogatory racial terms during the altercation. Sources indicated that the victims had also faced similar verbal harassment in the locality on earlier occasions.
In a statement, the Delhi Police confirmed that a team responded to information about an alleged assault near the Saket court complex. According to the police, the woman from Manipur and her friend were walking in the park when a group of men passed remarks at them, leading to an argument.
The injured woman was later taken to Safdarjung Hospital for medical examination and treatment. Authorities said she is in stable condition and suffered minor injuries.
Police officials said they are in contact with the victims and assured that strict action would be taken against those responsible. The matter is currently under investigation.
The incident comes just days after another case of racial abuse in the capital sparked outrage, in which a Delhi resident, Harsh Singh, was booked for allegedly racially abusing three women from Arunachal Pradesh following a dispute over repair work at their rented apartment.
The back-to-back incidents have renewed concerns about racial discrimination faced by people from Northeast India in metropolitan cities and prompted calls for stronger enforcement of laws against hate crimes and harassment.
