Government will not tolerate hate crimes: Rijiju

On Saturday Rijiju met representatives from North-east students’ groups. Reacting to the incident he said, "Wherever incidents are happening against the north eastern people, whether in Bangalore or in Delhi, we are leaving no stone unturned to book the culprit for hate crime". Rijiju reiterated, "Government of India believes India is a democratic nation, such hate crimes will not be tolerated. Our society must not be intolerant, we must exist harmoniously together. We’ll never tolerate hate crime or anything that damages national integrity or unity," Rijiju said after meeting a group of Northeast students in Gurgaon. "The government has decided that we'll establish a dedicated helpline and police force to deal with issues of students from Northeastern region," added My Rijiju, who also held a meeting with senior police officials.

Rijiju’s comments came at the backdrop of assault on two Nagaland students residing in Sikanderpur area of Gurgaon three days back. The two men Awang and Chester, both call centre workers, were beaten with cricket bats in the room they rent in Gurgaon near Delhi by more than seven locals on Wednesday night. They have been in hospital for the last two days now. Sources say one of the men has injured his backbone. According to the victims, the attackers burst into their room at midnight and hit them repeatedly with cricket bats and sticks till 3 am. Chester says he was pinned down while his head was shaved by the gang. Chester added, the attack was in revenge after a scuffle between the two groups. The victims claimed, the attackers shouted racial slurs at them. Gurgaon police swung into action and three people were arrested on Friday in connection with the attack so far.

Praising police for their prompt action, Rijiju said, "Police has done a commendable job in booking the culprits.” Regarding the incidents of assaults that are happening against the north eastern people, whether in Bangalore or in Delhi, minister said that Government is leaving no stone unturned to book the culprit for hate crime. He assured the issue was taken up at the highest level. "I have also talked to the Prime Minister and National Security Advisor, and have decided to hold a high level meeting on the matter. What steps must be taken to avoid such incidents from taking place in future will be discussed. The Government has taken issue very seriously with sensitivity, actions are on line, and no stone will be left unturned.”

Hate attacks against people from the North East have been occurring with alarming frequency in different parts of the country. A girl from Mizoram was found dead on Friday in her apartment in Delhi’s Minirka area. The girl died after sustaining severe head injuries. An autopsy report of her dead body is awaited on Saturday. Prior to Gurgaon attack, a 26-year-old engineering student from Manipur was roughed up in Bangalore by a group of men who reportedly abused and then attacked him for not speaking Kannada. Last month, two Manipuri students were attacked with a scissor, stones and iron rods by three people, two of them juveniles, when they objected to racist remarks against them.

Rijiju said, "We will have to introduce programs to sensitise people. Clashes between communities do take place but when it involves people from the Northeast, it has a tone of discrimination. We'll see if amendments to the already available provisions are required or not.”

"I have met the Gurgaon administration and have taken stock of the situation. No matter where such incidents take place it hurts us. I am happy with the steps that the police took in the Gurgaon case. The accused have been arrested. I assure the people of northeast that we will not leave any stone unturned in our efforts," he added.