Delhi: Three Northeastern Women Face Racial Abuse, Called 'Dhandhewali'; FIR Registered

PTI, Feb 22, 2026, New Delhi: Three women from Arunachal Pradesh were allegedly subjected to racial slurs, humiliation, and intimidation by their neighbours, who called them "dhandhewali", following a dispute over some repair work at their rented flat in south Delhi's Malviya Nagar.

The police said an FIR under relevant sections pertaining to outraging a woman's modesty and promoting enmity on grounds of religion, race, etc., has been registered against two people — Harsh Singh and his wife Ruby Jain.

On February 20, the women had called an electrician to their fourth-floor flat around 3:30 pm to have an air conditioner installed. A senior police officer said that during the process, dust and debris from the drilling work fell to the floor below, prompting objections from their neighbours, Harsh Singh and his wife.

What began as a disagreement over falling debris soon turned ugly, with the women alleging that the couple hurled abuses and made derogatory and racial remarks targeting them and the Northeastern community. A purported video of the incident has also been circulating on social media.

In the video, the accused woman can allegedly be heard calling the Northeastern women "momo" and saying, "Rs 500 mein massage parlour mein kaam karne waali dhandhewali (You work at massage parlours as sex workers for Rs 500)."

"Are you sitting here to do business? Have you opened a massage parlour at home?" the accused woman said. A police officer was present at the spot when the altercation was happening. In the video, the policeman is also seen intervening and trying to pacify the situation.