Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio condemned racial and physical attacks on Northeast women, citing the alleged assault of a Nagaland doctor at AIIMS Gorakhpur.
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DIMAPUR — Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Tuesday strongly condemned racial and physical attacks on women from the Northeast region, including the recent alleged sexual assault on a resident doctor from Nagaland at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Gorakhpur.
In a post on X, Rio said he “strongly condemn[s] the racial & physical attacks on women from the Northeast, including the incident of a woman from Nagaland,” adding that such acts are “reprehensible & have no place in society.” He said India’s unity in diversity must be upheld through tolerance, compassion and respect for dignity.
The remarks come in the backdrop of an alleged incident on February 22, in which a third-year resident doctor from Nagaland was reportedly followed for nearly 1.5 kilometres by three miscreants who allegedly passed obscene comments and hurled racial slurs targeting her Northeastern identity. Near AIIMS Gate No. 2, one of the accused allegedly attempted to intimidate her and later engaged in inappropriate physical contact before fleeing when she raised an alarm.
According to reports, police identified the arrested accused as Suraj Gupta and Amrit Vishwakarma, both residents of Deoria district. A case has been registered under sections 74 (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 296(a) (obscene acts and songs), 351(3) (criminal intimidation) and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The chief minister’s statement also follows another recent incident in Malviya Nagar, New Delhi, where three young women from Arunachal Pradesh were allegedly subjected to derogatory racial remarks and harassment.
Also read: NPYF seeks stronger safeguards for NE citizens after Gorakhpur assault, Delhi racial harassment