A group of students from Nagaland were allegedly denied entry into a supermarket in Mysuru with police booking the staff on Sunday after a video purportedly showing them being driven away went viral. Commissioner of Police Dr Chandragupta in a statement said an FIR was registered immediately after the video was noticed and the manager and other staff of the store had been taken into custody.
"We urge people and shop owners/staff to desist from doing such acts and behave responsibly in this time of crisis," he added. In the video, the students were heard saying "Why are you discriminating against us."
Posting the video on Twitter, Dolly Kikon wrote, "Meanwhile in Karnataka, Naga migrants from Northeast India not allowed to buy food. Shameful. Racism in India is an everyday affair."
The incident comes days after the Union Home Ministry asked all states to take action against those harassing people from the Northeast by linking them with COVID-19 after such incidents were reported in some places. It has said such incidents are racially discriminatory and painful to the victims.
Meanwhile, Bengaluru police commissioner Bhaskar Rao on Sunday tweeted: "Some misguided persons have made unwanted Covid 19 remarks against our brethren from the Northeastern states. "These misguided will be dealt with very sternly. Brothers & Sisters from NorthEast, you are secure here, approach nearest Police station or Me directly Live Fearless."