Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – A section of society including social media influencers is outraged and disgusted after videos showing Muslim women being harassed on the roads during Holi celebrations.
Journalist Zakir Ali Tiyagi posted a video which was shared by Instagram user Prashant on his account. The video, which is said to be from Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh, shows that two burqa-clad women are hit by water pouches while crossing a road. The women can be seen trying to protect themselves and running away after taking their slippers in their hands.
“Action was not taken by the Bijnor police even though I informed the police about the location of the video and shared the name of the account holder who uploaded the video. Dear police officials, should we also arrest the accused? Then, you will do?” tweeted Tyagi.
He also claimed that the police asked the user to delete the video instead of taking action against him.
However, the video has gone viral on social media with many people objecting to the obnoxious behaviour towards women.
Sharing the video, Yogita Bhayana, an activist, asked what kind of culture it was. “What kind of culture is this? Is this a country of APJ Abdul Kalam and Gandhi’s dream? This is a matter of shame”.
She pointed out that this was the lowest thing in morality and ethics.
Radio Jockey Sayed called it “hooliganism, communalism, abusive behaviour” in the name of festival.
“These are such low lives. Disgusting. And the apathy of the system is beyond disappointing,” she said.
Prominent journalist Sakshi Joshi pointed out that Muslim men are not allowed to play garba. However, Muslim women, who do not want to play Holi, are misbehaved. “They do themselves what they accused Muslim boy of,” she said.
Another video shows a mob throwing water on a Muslim woman even though she was warning them not to do so.
There is also a viral video which shows a Japanese woman being groped and harassed by a group of youth, presumably in Delhi’s Paharganj area.
In the video, the youth could be seen grabbing the woman and smearing colours on her amid chants of ‘Holi hai’. A boy could also be seen smashing an egg on her head, even as the woman shouted ‘bye bye’ just to escape from the spot.
IANS quoted a senior police officer as saying that a tweet has come to their notice which contains a video of Holi wherein few people are seen applying colour on a foreign national.
“The woman seems to be uncomfortable with the actions of the youth. The video attached with the said tweet has been posted on several digital platforms. We have taken cognisance of the video. The video is being analysed to ascertain the requisite details,” the officer said.
“Prima facie, on the basis of the landmarks seen in the video, it seems that it pertains to Paharganj. However, it is being verified whether any such incident took place in that area or the video is an old one,” the officer added.
However, no complaint or call relating to any kind of misbehaviour with any foreigner has been received at the Paharganj police station, he said.
“An e-mail has been sent to the Japanese Embassy requesting for help in establishing the identity of the girl or any other details about the incident. The SHO of Paharganj police station has been asked to collect the details of the Japanese people staying in the area and to establish the identity of the boys seen in the video,” the officer said.
“Once the incident and details are verified, action will be taken based on merits,” he added.