In Delhi, 1 in 4 PCR calls from Northeast residents linked to landlord harassment. How do police tackle such cases?

That person helped her approach the local police, but there were difficulties in pursuing the case. So, they went to the Delhi Police’s Special Police Unit for the North East Region (SPUNER), which assisted her.

“It was shocking to discover that the person who had been messaging her was actually her landlord. He had been using another number. One message allegedly asked ‘if she provided services’,” Weins Bhir, who volunteered with the Delhi Police to help coordinate this case, told The Indian Express.

Weins, who is from Arunachal Pradesh, is a postgraduate student and works with an NGO for the rights of women and children in Delhi. She also volunteers with SPUNER as the Delhi Police North East Representative (DPNR).

This is not an isolated case of harassment of people from the Northeastern states living in Delhi and its surrounding areas.

According to government data, the Delhi Police Control Room (PCR) receives an average of 180 calls each month involving Northeastern citizens. Nearly one-fourth of these are related to tenant disputes, most of which involve ill-treatment by landlords.

Just last month, a couple allegedly hurled racial abuses at three students from Arunachal Pradesh who live on rent in South Delhi’s Malviya Nagar. The Delhi Police registered a case and later arrested the couple. Following the incident, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta met the students and assured them of justice. She stated that there is absolutely no place for hatred, discrimination, intimidation, or racial abuse in the Capital.

“On average, the Delhi Police receive around six calls every day involving people from the Northeastern states. About one-fourth of these cases are related to disputes or ill-treatment by landlords. There are also calls regarding online fraud, disputes with taxi drivers over misbehaviour or overcharging, mobile theft, workplace harassment, and personal conflicts,” a senior police officer said.

It was in 2014, following the death of a Nido Tania, a student from Arunachal Pradesh and son of then Congress MLA Nido Pavitra, who was allegedly killed in a racial attack in Lajpat Nagar, that the Delhi Police set up a separate unit for people from the Northeast and appointed a Joint Commissioner-level officer as its nodal officer.

The Delhi Police also issued a helpline number, 1093, for people from the Northeast, along with three separate PCR vans called NEAT (North Eastern Assistance Team), working under SPUNER.

As far as manpower is concerned, SPUNER comprises 80 personnel and is overseen by officers of the Joint Commissioner and Special Commissioner ranks. The unit assists the local police in matters related to people from the Northeastern states.

Police also appointed around 50 representatives from all seven Northeastern states as well as Gorkhas from Darjeeling and Ladakhis to assist and coordinate with the police in such matters. The Delhi Police further run a Facebook page, ‘Delhi Police for Northeast Folks,’ which is managed by SPUNER.

According to a police officer, there are around 8-10 lakh Northeast people in the city, many of whom have been living for years in South, West, and North Delhi. The majority are students and professionals working in multinational companies.

“A large number of people from the Northeast also come for medical treatment, living in Delhi on rent for some months. To help them, SPUNER has collaborated with around 54 private hospitals in Delhi to provide assistance, including concessions on hospital bills,” a senior police officer told The Indian Express.

To address problems and challenges faced by citizens from the Northeast in Delhi, police conduct monthly meetings with representatives of these states.

In a recent meeting, senior officers, along with representatives from the Northeastern states and local police, directed police station staff to go a little beyond their usual approach while dealing with cases related to landlords and tenants involving people from the Northeastern states. They were also instructed to immediately seek the assistance of representatives from these states besides officers from SPUNER.

In the case from August last year, Bhir recalled that “the girl was very scared at the time, as the person seemed to be stalking her. The city was new to her, but somehow she managed to approach the police”.

“And when the police caught him [the landlord], he initially refused to admit his actions. However, he later broke down. Since the girl did not want to get entangled in legal proceedings and wanted to focus on her studies, we asked him to issue an apology letter, stating that he would not engage in such behavior in the future,” added Bhir.

During the investigation, when police asked him why he had done this, he said he thought “she was easily available because she looked different”.

According to Bhir, the Covid-19 pandemic made things even worse for people from the Northeast as landlords began overcharging tenants, a practice that still continues.

“But the work being done by the Delhi Police’s SPUNER has helped improve the situation significantly. But there is still a lot to be done as far as racism in this country is concerned,” Bhir said.