A Japanese woman was sexually assaulted by a group of men during the celebration of the Hindu festival of Holi in New Delhi on Wednesday.
In a video that has gone viral on Twitter, the woman can be seen being groped by five or six men who forcefully smeared her face with colors while screaming “happy Holi”.
The incident reportedly took place in the capital’s Paharganj neighborhood. The video has sparked outrage about women’s safety during the spring festival, where women have often complained about being harassed and groped by men under the pretext of applying colors.
This is horrendous to say the least .
A Japanese tourist in India ????#Holi
pic.twitter.com/HfpOIQCmYA— Deepali Pandey (@deepalipandey) March 10, 2023
DCP (Central) Sanjay Kumar Sain said the video is being analyzed to ascertain the details. “On the basis of landmarks seen in the video, the incident seems to have taken place in Paharganj. However, it is being verified whether any such incident took place in that area,” the DCP said.
The Embassy of Japan was also contacted in this regard. It has responded by saying that it does not have any information regarding the incident so far, the DCP added.
Very distrubing videos getting viral on social media showing sexual harassment with foreign nationals on Holi! I am issuing notice to Delhi Police to examine these videos and arrest the perpetrators! Completely shameful behaviour!
— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) March 10, 2023
Swati Maliwal, the chair for Delhi Commission for Women, called the incident “completely shameful behaviour” and said she is issuing a notice to Delhi police to arrest the perpetrators.
