Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has included the word ‘Chinki’ and 'Racial discrimination' against North East people under Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. In a letter to all states and Union Territories, MHA ask them to book offenders guilty of atrocity of racial and verbal against people from the NE region.
Under the law, an offender can end up spending five years in jail and the accused could be denied anticipatory bail as well.
In the letter, MHA joint secretary (centre-state) S. Suresh Kumar has admitted that people from the North-East do face abuse in major cities and feel insecure.
The MHA estimates that most North-East persons in major cities belong to the ST category. According to a provision under Section 3 of the SC/ ST Act, an offence will be committed if any member of the SC/ ST category is “deliberately insulted and humiliated in public view.”
Not just the victim, but anyone who knows that an offence has been committed under the Act can lodge a complaint. The police are empowered under the Act to arrest the offender without any warrant and launch an investigation.
The MHA letter says that if a complaint is received from any citizen hailing from the North-East but no follow-up action is taken, then a “serious view” should be taken against the police officer concerned and also the officer incharge of the police station.
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