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.
Source: @Sraj101 on Twitter
The video of their actions has resulted in national outrage and three people being arrested.
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.
Source: @Sraj101 on Twitter
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.
Source: @Sraj101 on Twitter
One guy even cracks an egg over her head.
Source: @Sraj101 on Twitter
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”.
Source: @Sraj101 on Twitter
She quickly slaps him and walks away from the crowd via an alley.
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.
Source: @Sraj101 on Twitter
As the clip went viral, the outrage spread and Delhi Commission for Women chair Swati Maliwal described the incident as “disturbing” and “completely shameful”.
Source: @SwatiJaiHind on Twitter
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”.
Source: @shreyadhoundial on Twitter
She also felt that people should stop saying “don’t feel bad, it’s Holi” as the festival isn’t an excuse for molestation.
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.
Source: @megumiko_india on Twitter
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.
Source: @megumiko_india on Twitter
She then apologised again, to those offended by the video.
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.
Source: @megumiko_india on Twitter
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.
Source: @megumiko_india on Twitter
Though the video was “hard to see”, she was being helped by others, she assured netizens.
Source: @megumiko_india on Twitter
She pointed out that she took part in the festival at a location considered “one of the most unsafe places” in India.
Source: @megumiko_india on Twitter
Saying that Holi “is a wonderful and fun traditional festival”, Ms Megumiko apologised yet again for “causing concern and anxiety”.
Source: @megumiko_india on Twitter
She said the police have promised to strengthen their crackdown and hoped there would be fewer cases of harassment against women next year.
Source: @megumiko_india on Twitter
Lastly, she still loves India despite this incident, she said, adding that India and Japan will be “forever friends”.
Source: @megumiko_india on Twitter
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.
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.
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.
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