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Protests and candlelight vigils spread across Tripura state after a 24-year-old man from the northeastern Indian state died of injuries sustained in a violent attack, fueling a national debate over racism, policing and student safety.
Anjel Chakma, a final-year management student at a private university in Dehradun, the capital of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, was attacked on December 9 and died in hospital on December 26 after 17 days of treatment.
Demonstrations were held in Agartala and other parts of Tripura state, with students and community groups demanding swift justice and stronger protection for people from northeast India.
The Tripura government announced a one-time compensation of 500,000 rupees (£4,700) to Chakma’s family. Chief Minister Manik Saha said he had spoken to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami twice and was assured that the culprits would face stern action.
Mr Saha wrote on
Saha, who is also in charge of home affairs in Tripura, said the state had decided to provide financial assistance to the family, while Uttarakhand provided nearly 400,000 rupees (£3,309) in aid. A delegation from Tripura Chakma Students Association and Mog Students Welfare Association met Mr Saha demanding a government job for a family member, early justice and further compensation from Uttarakhand.
According to the charge sheet filed with the police by Chakma’s brother Michel, the two were at a local market in Dehradun on the evening of December 9 when a group of drunken men allegedly used insulting language based on caste and race.
“When my brother objected to their caste-based slurs, the accused attacked him with knives and sticks,” the first information report (FIR) registered on December 12 said. Chakma was stabbed in the neck and abdomen, and Michelle was shot in the head.
Five people were arrested, including two minors who were sent to juvenile hall, police said.
One defendant, identified as a Nepali national, remains at large and is believed to have crossed the border; a non-bailable arrest warrant has been issued and a police team has been dispatched to Nepal. Investigators recovered a knife believed to be the murder weapon, but police said it was unclear who carried out the fatal attack.
Top Uttarakhand police officials rejected suggestions the killing was racially motivated.
Ajay Singh, senior superintendent of police in Dehradun, told NDTV that the derogatory remarks exchanged among a group of people sitting together were “jokingly” and were not directed at Chakma.
“This was not a racist remark as one of the young men involved in the incident was also a resident of the same state,” Singh said, adding that “some derogatory remarks were being exchanged between them…somehow, an impression was created that the comments were directed at them. It was in the midst of this chaos that the confrontation took place.”
The police also denied the allegation of delay, saying the complaint was lodged 24 hours after the incident, although the student body argued that a three-day gap before the FIR allowed a key suspect to escape. Drishmuni Chakma, president of the All India Chakma Students’ Union, said the initial handling of the case “downplayed the seriousness of the crime” and pointed to “serious flaws” in the investigation.
The police version has been strongly contested by student groups in the northeast, a region made up of eight states where there have long been reports of racial abuse in other parts of India.
In Agartala, hundreds of people took part in a candle march demanding a fair investigation and accountability while also protesting discrimination against the northeastern community. The Tipula Aboriginal Students’ Federation and the Tipula Youth Federation said the killing reflected wider hostility faced by people in the region.
“He had to die because of racism,” said Suraj Debbarma, president of the Youth Tipla Federation. “People call us Chinese, momo, chinky. Today, a brother died; next time, someone else from another state in the Northeast could be the victim.”
The Tripura Chakma Students’ Association also sought intervention from India’s central government, saying it said students and young people in the country’s northeast were under constant attack.
Twipura Students’ Union, part of North East Students’ Organisation, warned that repeated inaction had “normalized hate” and called for the case to be investigated under rules relating to murder, hate crime and racial discrimination.
Political leaders from all parties condemned the killings. Union Development Minister for the Northeast Region Jyotiraditya Scindia called it a “profound blow to humanity and sensitivities”. Opposition MP Shashi Tharoor described Chakma’s death as a “national disgrace”, saying a young Indian “was racially abused, dehumanized with insulting words like ‘Chinese’ and ‘momo’ and ultimately murdered”. Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the incident was “heartbreaking” and called for national laws to combat racism and hate crimes.
Nagaland Minister Tanjan Imna Alon said people from the Northeast are an integral part of India and condemned the use of defamatory remarks. “We don’t consider ourselves Chinese by any means, we are not ‘momo’ in any sense. Momo is a dish, it’s delicious and they should eat it too. But this attitude towards us is wrong,” he said.
Chakma’s father, Tarun Prasad Chakma, a Border Security Force soldier, called for equal treatment. “Our children from the Northeast go to different places like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru to work or study, they should not be treated so unfavorably. We are Indians too,” he said.