[Source]
A Japanese woman at the center of a disturbing video showing her being groped without consent by a group of men in New Delhi, India, has spoken out after the terrifying encounter.
The incident reportedly took place during Holi celebrations last week in Paharganj district, a popular tourist spot.
As seen in the viral video, multiple men surrounded and groped the victim, daubed her face with a colored material, smashed an egg on her head and pushed her repeatedly between them.
The horrific scene ends with one of the abusers trying to touch the victim one last time, but the latter slaps him and walks away.
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Holi is a Hindu festival that marks the arrival of spring and celebrates the eternal love between the gods Krishna and Radha. The celebration comes with ritual fire, food, music, dancing and street festivities that include playing with water guns and colored powder.
The viral video quickly sparked outrage across India, with many apologizing to Megumi and denouncing her attackers for tarnishing what should have been a holy celebration.
So far, at least three of the perpetrators – including a minor – have reportedly been arrested.
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“We are all ashamed of what happened to you,” Twitter user @PrinceK78636664 wrote. “We apologize to you. Holi is a sacred festival and some of our people defame it. Whoever wronged you will definitely be punished.
“India’s culture is one of respect for women,” Joint Commissioner Dev Prakash Meena tweeted to the victim. “On Holi, men and women play together with love, but there are some anti-social elements who misbehaved with you in the name of Holi and all the countrymen were hurt by it. We apologize.”
The groping victim, identified by her Twitter name as “Megumi” — and @megu1455 on YouTube — posted the video, but deleted it shortly after. IN new themeshe said she was overwhelmed by the attention it received and apologized to those offended by the video.
“I posted the video on Twitter. After that, the number of RTs and DMs increased more than I imagined. I was horrified so I deleted the tweet,” wrote Megumi, who then returned to Japan. “I am very sorry for those who were offended by watching the video.”
Megumi said she knew beforehand that it was dangerous for women to go out alone during Holi celebrations.
For this reason, she goes out with 35 friends; however, the numbers did not help her avoid the accident.
“I would appreciate it if you could understand that I was not trying to convey the anomalies of the Holi festival in India,” Megumi wrote. “The place where the video was shot is considered one of the most dangerous places in India and I participated in the festival.”
Despite her experience, the Japanese tourist maintains her love for India and explains that the true celebration of Holi should appeal to everyone, “regardless of skin color or social status.”
She added that the local police have promised to strengthen their measures against such harassment.
“Most of all, I love everything about India,” she said. “I have been there many times and it is a fascinating country. It is a wonderful country that I cannot hate, even if I had lived through this incident. India and Japan forever.”