A Delhi resident accused of racially assaulting and threatening three women from Arunachal Pradesh in Malviya Nagar has expressed shame over his and his wife’s statements and apologized to the people of the North East.
Harsh Singh, a resident of Malviya Nagar, and his wife, Ruby Jain, have been booked in a case of racist assault against three North-Eastern women residing in their building. A dispute over some repair work turned ugly as dust from the air conditioner installation process fell onto the floor of the accused couple.
The police registered a first information report (FIR) under Section 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) (word intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 351 (2) (criminal intimidation), 3 (5) (common intention), 196 (promoting enmity on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc.) against Singh and his wife.
“You’re definitely ashamed.”
Speaking to news agency ANI, Singh said that he and his wife were “definitely ashamed” of the incident, but he also wanted to clarify that the statements were made in the heat of the moment.
Read also | ‘Customs officer ka beta hai pho’: Delhi couple subjected to ‘racist’ abuse and threatening three women from Arunachal
He said: “We are showing full cooperation with Delhi Police, and we have full confidence that the Indian police and judiciary stand with us and will clarify everything through an impartial investigation… We are definitely ashamed. I am not like that person, but it was in the heat of the moment. We did not intend to do this… I want to ask social media users to listen to both sides of the story.”
Singh further claimed that his property was attacked and one of his men was about to attack as well. He added: “The situation escalated after the woman came. Please do not conduct media trials. I have complete confidence in the Indian judiciary.”
He said he and his wife would accept any punishment imposed on them. “A doctor sent me obscene pictures of my mother on social media. Our family and our profession should not be dragged into this… I personally apologize to all the people of North East,” Singh told ANI.
What happened?
The incident happened on February 20, when the three women called an electrician to their apartment at 3:30pm to install the air conditioner.
During the process, dust and debris from the drilling fell to the ground below, prompting Singh and his wife to raise objections.
Read also | Digging for conflict: How AC installation led to racist abuse against three Arunachal women in Delhi
The couple allegedly became angry over this and abused the electrician. One of the north-eastern women said the three of them defended the electrician, saying he was just doing drilling work at their place.
However, the couple started fighting with the women. Later, the couple also called the police, which aggravated the dispute.
Videos of the fight went viral on social media, showing the accused woman, Singh’s wife, calling Arunachali women “momo”, in reference to a popular north-eastern dish.
Read also | ‘No excuse’: Meghalaya CM condemns racist attack on Arunachal women in Delhi, highlights India’s diversity
The accused also called the women “sex workers” and used derogatory terms against them.
Arunachal CM confirms arrest
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Tuesday condemned the racist attack on the three women from the state, describing the incident as “shameful”.
“We strongly condemn the shameful incident of racist abuse faced by our three young sisters from Arunachal Pradesh residing in Malviya Nagar, south Delhi. Such behavior is completely unacceptable and has no place in our society,” Khandu said in a post on X.
He further stated that he spoke to the Delhi Police Commissioner immediately after learning about the incident, adding that the two are in personal contact with each other. “The accused are currently on the run and I have been assured that they will be arrested at the earliest and will be dealt with in accordance with the law,” Khandu added.
“We stand firmly with our three sisters, and their safety, dignity and justice remain our top priority,” Khandu said.
