Japanese Tourist Molested By Several Men During India Festival, 3 People Arrested

Japanese Tourist Molested During Holi Festival In India, She Apologises For Causing Concern

The Holi festival in India is also called the “festival of love” as it celebrates the blossoming of love, among other things.

However, a Japanese tourist might not have felt much love for the men who were seen molesting her during the colourful celebrations in New Delhi.

The video of their actions has resulted in national outrage and three people being arrested.

Woman set upon by several men in the street

In a video that has gone viral on Twitter, a woman is being set upon by several male youths in the middle of the street while others watch on, laughing.

The 24-second clip apparently started in the middle of the celebrations, as the woman’s clothes have already been doused with colours.

Several men are seen touching her at the same time, cradling her head and pushing her while splashing and spraying more colours onto her as she lets out a high-pitched wail.

One guy even cracks an egg over her head.

Man appears to grope her chest, she slaps him

A female voice, either the woman’s or someone behind the camera, can be heard saying “itai, itai” — Japanese for “painful” or “it hurts”.

The woman finally breaks free for a while, but then a man rushes over and appears to grope her chest, saying, “happy Holi”.

She quickly slaps him and walks away from the crowd via an alley.

Netizens outraged over incident

A netizen who shared the video on Twitter identified the location in the video as the district of Paharganj in New Delhi.

They also identified the woman as a Japanese tourist.

As the clip went viral, the outrage spread and Delhi Commission for Women chair Swati Maliwal described the incident as “disturbing” and “completely shameful”.

She said she was issuing a notice to the Delhi police to identify and arrest the perpetrators.

Journalist Shreya Dhoundial, the executive editor of the Mirror Now, decried it an “hooliganism”.

She also felt that people should stop saying “don’t feel bad, it’s Holi” as the festival isn’t an excuse for molestation.

Tourist says she’s fine, apologises twice

Finally, the alleged victim in the video spoke out, revealing that she was “fine in mind and body”.

Ms Megumiko, a 22-year-old spa manager from Osaka, said in a tweet on Friday (10 Mar) that she’d just arrived in Bangladesh.

She also apologised for not knowing that the situation was serious.

The next night, she revealed that she was the one who tweeted the video on 9 Mar, but deleted it after the number of retweets and direct messages increased quickly.

She then apologised again, to those offended by the video.

Molested tourist went with 35 friends to ‘unsafe’ place in India

In a subsequent series of tweets, Ms Megumiko said she’d heard it was dangerous for her to take part in the festival, so she went with 35 friends.

She wanted to explain that the incident didn’t happen “on purpose” but that the video was taken by another Japanese “by chance”. She wasn’t trying to convey any “abnormalities”, she added.

Though the video was “hard to see”, she was being helped by others, she assured netizens.

She pointed out that she took part in the festival at a location considered “one of the most unsafe places” in India.

Tourist apologies yet again for being molested, says she loves India

Saying that Holi “is a wonderful and fun traditional festival”, Ms Megumiko apologised yet again for “causing concern and anxiety”.

She said the police have promised to strengthen their crackdown and hoped there would be fewer cases of harassment against women next year.

Lastly, she still loves India despite this incident, she said, adding that India and Japan will be “forever friends”.

Police arrest 3 people over incident

While Ms Megumiko may have brushed off the incident and declined to make a report, the Delhi police were not so forgiving.

They have arrested three people over the incident, reported the India Times.

One of them is a minor, and all three live near Paharganj.

After questioning, the trio confessed their involvement, the police said.

Action has been initiated against them under the Delhi Police Act, but further legal action will be decided on merits, they added.

South Korean YouTuber harassed in Mumbai

This isn’t the first time a female tourist from East Asia had a scary encounter in India.

In December last year, a South Korean YouTuber was harassed while live-streaming in the streets of Mumbai.

South Korean YouTuber Harassed While Livestreaming In India, 2 Men Arrested Over Incident

Thankfully, she was helped by a good Samaritan, and the two men who harassed her were arrested.

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Featured image adapted from @Sraj101 on Twitter.