Stop harassing and referring to people from North East as coronavirus: MHA

New Delhi, Mar 24: The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued an advisory to all states to take appropriate action against those persons found harassing people from North East an associating them with the coronavirus.

Multiple instances of racial slurs against people of the North east, including sportspersons has come to light. There have been cases where people of the North East have been harassed by linking them to COVID-19. This is racially discriminatory and painful to them, the MHA advisory read.

It it requested that all law enforcing agencies in your state, UT may please be sensitised to take appropriate action in cases of harassment where these are reported.

The advisory comes in the wake of multiple cases being reported. Three incidents have been reported in Delhi. In one case, a woman from Manipur was spat on by a biker, who called her coronavirus.

In another incident, a student was was called corona before being hit by a water balloon on Holi. In the third case, a woman from North East was chased out of a restaurant on Pandora road by the guests.

Two such cases have been reported from Pune as well. A woman was called Chinese by a police constable and in the other incident a lady from Manipur was called coronavirus while buying groceries at a market.