Two journalism students from Arunachal Pradesh were racially abused by four people at Shantinagar Bus Stand on Tuesday evening.
While the youth was also allegedly assaulted, his cousin sister was sexually harassed. The two, who migrated to the city two years ago for their undergraduate studies, were returning home when they were accosted by two people around 8.45 p.m..
“They started sexually harassing me. They were smelling of alcohol, and shouting out dirty comments in broken English,” said the girl who was riding pillion on the two-wheeler. When her cousin stopped the vehicle and removed the helmet, the abuse turned racial.
“They pushed him around and slapped him for no reason. Two others joined them, with one of them claiming to be the son of the commissioner. ‘I am very powerful, you don’t know what I can do,’ he started to say,” the girl told The Hindu .
The duo then called the police, and when no policeman turned up, they took to Twitter to register their complaint on Police Commissioner M.N. Reddi’s handle, @CPBLR.
While advising the two to contact the divisional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Reddi tweeted, “It is utterly false [the claim of an assaulter that he is the Commissioner’s son]. Somebody has told lies… Whoever they are, will be duly punished.”
The students then orally informed the Ashoknagar police about the incident.
Fear
The two are now fearing a backlash. “The assaulters are barely a few metres from our house. We do not know what they will do when they find out we have complained,” they said.
This isn’t the first time the two have faced racial abuse in the city. Persistent harassment has seen them change four houses in nearly two years.
While the youth was also allegedly assaulted, his cousin was sexually harassed
