India, July 15 -- After a video went viral showing an Indian woman being detained by Illinois police for allegedly shoplifting $1,300 worth of goods from a Target store, Indians online expressed outrage, saying her actions had brought embarrassment and reinforced negative stereotypes about the community abroad.

The viral bodycam footage from May shows a middle-aged woman who claimed that she was visiting family from India and had come to the store to purchase gifts for them. According to the store authorities, she tried to leave without paying for the items she had put in her cart after seven hours of shopping. She was stopped at the security gate and taken to a back room where police officers arrested her.

In the video, she repeatedly ...