Condemnation has been growing across India after three women from Arunachal Pradesh accused their neighbour in Delhi’s Malviya Nagar of calling people from the northeast sex workers.

The allegedly racist incident is blowing up at a time when India is rejoicing a film from the northeast, Boong, winning a Bafta award for best children’s film.

A purported video of the Malviya Nagar incident is being shared widely on social media in which a woman can be heard calling the Arunachali women "momo" and saying, "Rs 500 mei massage parlour mei kaam karne waali dhandhewali [You work at massage parlours as sex workers for Rs 500]... Are you sitting here to do business? Have you opened a massage parlour at home?"

The Telegraph Online cannot verify the authenticity of the video but a cursory check on a free online tool to check for AI usage claimed it was not doctored.

According to the police, the incident took place around 3.30pm on February 20, when drilling and electrical installation work was being carried out in the women's fourth-floor apartment.

The purported video of the confrontation shows a woman accusing the Arnuachalis of engaging in sex work, while her husband claims they run a massage parlour.

A police officer was present at the spot when the altercation was happening. In the video, the policeman is also seen intervening and trying to pacify the situation.

Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K. Sangma on Sunday strongly condemned the incident in a social media post, saying such bias and discrimination against people from the northeast “must stop”.

Several videos of the incident were shared on social media platforms, which have fuelled the anger. Several users expressed solidarity with the women and called for immediate action.

One user commented, “Shameful! They need to be arrested. Stay strong, sisters. We are with you, the Northeast is with you.”

Many others echoed similar demands for the accused woman’s arrest.

"No Indian deserves to be treated like a foreigner in their own land. Racism is not just about skin colour, It is about power, It is about trying to make someone feel small because you think they are different and it needs to be called out loudly. India is diverse, that is our strength, If we cannot respect that diversity in our own neighbourhoods, then we have failed each other," posted an X (formerly Twitter) user.

Another X user tagged Union minister Kiren Rijiju and wrote: “Kiren Rijiju Northeast people are facing racial abuse all around the country. They are our very own people & you represent that region as a cabinet minister in the present NDA govt."

‘Try sleeping with my husband’

Per the video and published accounts of the incident, what began as a minor disagreement soon turned ugly with the three Arunachali women alleging that the couple hurled abuses and made derogatory and racial remarks targeting them and people from northeast India.

The Arunachali woman said that when she confronted the man over his comment about running a massage parlour, his wife made an even more objectionable remark.

"When I asked him why he was saying that, his wife asked me to go and sleep with him," she said.

In the video, the woman can be heard saying, "Try sleeping with my husband and see how much strength he has. You run a massage parlour, you'll find out."

Another neighbour, from Arunachal Pradesh, who stepped in to defuse the situation, said she too was verbally abused.

"The man's wife kept boasting that her father is a customs officer and threatened me, saying 'we'll make you strip and dance'," she alleged.

The women also claimed that the couple falsely accused them of discriminating against them on the basis of caste.

"They said we were targeting them because of caste, which is completely untrue. We don't even think that way," one of the women said.

Speaking to PTI Videos, one of the Arunachli women, who is preparing for the UPSC exams, said, "Instead of talking about the main issue, they started targeting the northeast. They kept saying that northeastern people are illiterate. We do 'dhandhebazi' [sex work] for Rs 500. They even threatened to beat me up."

The accused couple, who are also tenants in the same building, allegedly came upstairs and began arguing with them over the debris from the drilling and installation work.

"We live on the fourth floor, and they live on the first floor. We had called an electrician to install an air-conditioner. As he had to drill a small hole to fit a box, some dust fell onto the balcony of the neighbours on the ground floor. It was a minor issue, but they began abusing our electrician," she said.

The woman said they immediately apologised, saying that it was unintentional.

"We apologised and explained it wasn't intentional, but they kept hurling more insults at us," she said, adding that the argument soon turned personal.

The women said they were shocked when the couple involved the police over what they described as a trivial issue.

"Since the dispute was minor, we did not expect them to call the police. But they did, and even got a case filed against us. The police came and noted our names, yet the couple continued hurling racial slurs at us in front of the officer," she said.

An FIR has reportedly been registered at Malviya Nagar police station under BNS sections 79 (word intended to insult a woman's modesty), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 3(5) (common intention) and 196 (promoting enmity on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc.) against Harsh Singh and his wife Ruby Jain.

No arrests have been made at the time of publishing this report.

Advocate Reena Rai, representing the three women, said the incident reflects the persistent racial prejudice faced by people from the northeast in the national capital.

"As neighbours, they should have provided these women, who live far away from home, a sense of security. Instead, they harassed them and made filthy remarks," Rai, who is from Sikkim, told PTI.

"We are as much Indian as anyone else. Why are we treated like outsiders just because we are from the northeast? We, too, have the right to live with equality and dignity.”

The women have demanded a formal apology from the accused.

India has seen such cases for years

Four members of a Gujarat family have been booked after a video went viral allegedly showing two of them abusing and threatening staff at a resort in Arunachal Pradesh's Dibang Valley.

The incident took place at Mishmi Hills Resort in Anini, where the guests had checked in on February 18. Police said the case was registered after the resort filed a complaint, and an investigation is under way.

According to the resort's complaint, the guests were informed on arrival that outside food and alcohol were not allowed on the premises, in line with the property's policy. Despite this, on February 20 the family brought alcoholic drinks from outside and reacted aggressively when staff reminded them of the rules.

The accused also damaged the resort's rules display frame and threatened to defame the property and get it shut down by using "influential connections."

Anjel Chakma, a 24-year-old MBA student, died on December 26 after suffering grievous injuries in a racially motivated attack in Dehradun.

In November 2023, students from the northeast reported racial and misogynistic abuse near Delhi University’s North Campus. In 2016, two youths from Mizoram were beaten in Bengaluru for not speaking the local language.

One of the most chilling cases remains the killing of Nido Taniam in January 2014. The 19-year-old student from Arunachal Pradesh was beaten to death in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar after shopkeepers mocked his hairstyle.

A police investigation report detailed how Nido and his friends had gone to meet another friend when a shopkeeper made derogatory remarks about his appearance.

The North East Students Society Delhi University (NESSDU) has condemned an incident of alleged racial harassment involving three Arunachali students in the national capital, calling for strict and immediate action against those responsible.

In a statement issued on Monday, the student body said the three girls faced verbal harassment, racist slurs and intimidation on February 19 while installing an air conditioner at their rented residence in Delhi's Malviya Nagar.

It said the situation escalated unnecessarily even though the electrician apologised for the dust that accidentally fell on the lower floor due to the repair work.

According to NESSDU, the two individuals allegedly made remarks that racially stereotyping people from the northeast, including derogatory comments linking them to massage centres and drugs.

The accused also threatened the students, claiming that they had political influence, the statement read.

Calling the incident “deeply concerning”, the student body said it was not the first time people from the northeast had faced racism and harassment. It demanded appropriate legal and disciplinary measures to ensure accountability and prevent recurrence.

NESSDU said it would pursue all lawful avenues if strict action is not taken.