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Delhi Man Spits ‘Guthka’ On Manipuri Woman, Calls Her ‘Corona’ & Flees, FIR Lodged

byDisha Banerjee
23rd March 2020
2 minute read

Recently, a video of a few North-East Indian students went viral where they claimed people have been harassing and calling them ‘Coronavirus’. They also reported shocking incidents of racism, class discrimination, and ostracism. The coronavirus pandemic has not just taken a medical and financial toll on the world but has also given rise to crass racism.

An extremely disturbing incident has come to light where a Manipuri woman was spat on and called ‘Corona’ by a man in Delhi after which he fled on a scooter, reports India TV.

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The incident took place in Vijay Nagar area of North Delhi on Sunday night. The Manipuri woman, who lives at a rented accommodation, was returning after buying groceries. She was walking through a dark lane. The man, allegedly in his early 50’s, shouted ‘Corona’ and spat gutkha (tobacco) on her t-shirt before driving away, reports The Hindu.

Pictures of the woman have gone viral on the internet.

A police case has been filed against the unidentified man under section 509 of the Indian Penal Code for insulting the modesty of the woman.

“We are scanning the CCTV in the area to identify the man on white colour Scooty,” said Vijyanta Arya, DCP (North West Delhi).

People on the internet are utterly disgusted by the incident. Have a look:

In addition to this, Indian Idol fame Meiyang Chang recently took to social media to share an account of being subjected to racial slurs amidst coronavirus, reports News18.

“I go for a jog every day near my house in Mumbai. The other day, two guys sped past me on a bike, screaming ‘corona’ and laughing. I wanted to scream back and hurl the choicest of gaalis, but I didn’t see any point in it. How do you punish people for their stupidity or ignorance? Over the years, I have become used to these comments and yes, they are hurtful. I try to move on and be optimistic, but it does affect you.”

He went on to add that even without the coronavirus, many of our citizens are “casually racist” against people from the North-East.

“I have been called Chinese and Nepali in the past. I feel that as a country, we are casually racist, be it on the basis of colour, caste, or ethnicity.”

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🅴🅳🅸🆃🅴🅳: ʜɪ, ɪ ʀᴇᴀʟɪꜱᴇ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴘᴏꜱᴛ ʜᴀꜱ ʀᴇꜱᴏɴᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ʟᴏᴛ ᴏꜰ ʏᴏᴜ. ᴀ ᴄᴏɴᴠᴇʀꜱᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ʜᴀꜱ ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛᴇᴅ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ɪᴛ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴀᴛ'ꜱ ɢᴏᴏᴅ. ʏᴏᴜ ᴍᴀʏ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴘᴏꜱᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴏᴘɪɴɪᴏɴꜱ ʜᴇʀᴇ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴄᴀɴ ɪ ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ ʀᴇQᴜᴇꜱᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ ᴋᴇᴇᴘ ɪᴛ ᴄᴏʀᴅɪᴀʟ ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴇꜰʀᴀɪɴ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴜꜱɪɴɢ ᴀʙᴜꜱɪᴠᴇ ᴏʀ ᴅɪꜱʀᴇꜱᴘᴇᴄᴛꜰᴜʟ ʟᴀɴɢᴜᴀɢᴇ (ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜꜱᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ'ꜱ ᴇxᴀᴄᴛʟʏ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ᴜᴘ ᴀɢᴀɪɴꜱᴛ)? ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ 🤗 . In times of crisis, some human beings devolve into the worst versions of themselves. Or may be that was them all along? . Thank you @mumbaigirl14 @timesofindia for taking this message far & wide, in light of the online & public #racism & discrimination against North-East Indians & the Indian-Chinese🙏🏼 And thank you everyone for your unstinting humanism & love since this article broke yesterday (or today, depending on which city you are in). I'm reading your messages and I'm so, so touched by your kind words. Let's stay united; in spirit & in philosophy. Now and always 🤗 . And to those stray trolls who are still spewing venom on my timeline; I say to you, as we would back in Bihar-Jharkhand: "भक साला, तुम तो हमारे प्यार के क़ाबिल भी नहीं हो बे! लेकिन, तुमको भी दीर्घायु भवः।" . Stay safe, stay healthy everyone ❤️

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It is shameful that our fellow citizens are being subjected to such incidents of racial discrimination and harassment. Perpetrators of such behavior should be punished and schooled appropriately!

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