Pradyot announces Rs 10 lakh reward for info on prime accused
Political leaders across party lines and several organisations on Monday strongly condemned the assault and subsequent death of a Tripura student in Dehradun, demanding swift and stringent action against those responsible.
According to officials and family members, the 24-year-old student- Anjel Chakma, son of a Border Security Force constable, succumbed to his injuries on December 26 at a hospital in Dehradun. Anjel was grievously injured after being attacked by a group of miscreants on December 9, who allegedly made racial slurs.
Uttarakhand Police, however, said there was no evidence so far to suggest that the killing was racially motivated. Police said five accused have been arrested, including one from Manipur, while a Nepal national remains absconding. A reward of Rs 25,000 has been announced for information leading to the arrest of the accused, and a police team has been sent to Nepal.
BJP’s ally, Tipra Motha Party supremo Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, on Monday demanded immediate and exemplary punishment for those responsible and announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for information leading to the arrest of the main accused, who has reportedly fled to Nepal.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi expressed his sympathy to the family members of the victim. In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said: “What happened to Anjel Chakma and his brother Michael in Dehradun is a horrific hate crime. Hate doesn’t appear overnight. For years now, it has been fed daily- especially to our youth- through toxic content and irresponsible narratives. And it’s being normalised by the hate-spewing leadership of the ruling BJP.” Rahul said that India is built on respect and unity, not fear and abuse.
Mizoram chief minister said in a post on his X handle: “Deeply saddened by the death of a student from Tripura in Dehradun. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.”
“This tragedy highlights the continuing challenges faced by people from the North East in parts of mainland India. Discrimination and racial prejudice have no place in our Constitution, and the rule of law must prevail to ensure justice,” Lalduhoma said. Nagaland minister Temjen Imna Along on Monday strongly reacted to the alleged racial attack, asserting that the North Eastern states are an inseparable and integral part of India.
Along told reporters in Itanagar, “First of all, we should think before speaking. I cannot condemn the entire community, but the people who did it are not intellectuals and don’t know anything about the people of the North East. In any way, we don’t consider ourselves Chinese, and in any form, we are not ‘momo’. Momo is a dish; it’s very good, and they should also eat it. But this attitude towards us is wrong.”
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma urged his Uttarakhand counterpart Pushkar Singh Dhami to bring those behind the alleged racist attack on a Tripura student, which led to his death, to justice. He also extended his condolences to the family of Anjel Chakma.
Demanding severe punishment of the culprits, quoting deceased Anjel Chakma’s remarks during the attacks, Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said, “I am an Indian, I am not Chinese”, and asserted that people of the Northeast are Indians, not Chinese.
Gogoi said that the case must be investigated in a time-bound manner and the guilty must be given the harshest punishment to convey a message across the country that there is zero tolerance for such crimes.
Gogoi said that Unakoti in Tripura, the place Anjel Chakma came from, has some of the ancient Shiva temples. Gogoi demanded that the delay in registration of the FIR must also be probed.
All India Chakma Students’ Union (AICSU) has written to the Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami seeking the transfer of the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the shifting of the trial outside Uttarakhand, preferably to Delhi, in the case relating to the racially motivated attack and murder of Angel Chakma, an MBA student.
AICSU, in a statement, said that the family of the deceased has lost faith in the Uttarakhand Police due to serious procedural lapses, including a three-day delay in registering the FIR despite the incident occurring on December 9, and refusal by the Selakui Police station to register the complaint on multiple occasions, which was registered after three days.
Meanwhile, earlier Tripura chief minister Manik Saha and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad K Sangma and his party, National People’s Party, also condemned the killing and demanded punishment for the attackers.
Various youth and students’ organisations on Sunday organised a candlelight march in Agartala to protest the brutal assault and subsequent death of Angel Chakma in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun.
NPYF state unit condemns killing
DIMAPUR, DEC 29 (NPN): National People’s Youth Front (NPYF) Nagaland state unit has strongly condemned the brutal racial abuse and violence that resulted in the death of Anjel Chakma from Tripura in Dehradun.
In a press note, NPYF, the youth wing, described the incident as “horrifying and deeply heartbreaking” and highlighted the persistent racial discrimination faced by people from North East region.
The youth front asserted that such acts of racial hatred and violence were unacceptable in a democratic and pluralistic nation.
It stated that people from the North East were integral to India, equal in dignity, rights, and citizenship.
NPYF unit said that racism against any community, especially North Easterners, must never be normalized or ignored.
The front maintained that the tragic loss served as a grave reminder of the urgent need for stronger institutional safeguards, social accountability, and strict enforcement of laws against hate crimes and racial violence.
It demanded that perpetrators must be identified, prosecuted, and punished to the fullest extent of the law without delay.
NPYF also called upon the government of India and responsible state authorities to ensure swift and transparent justice in the case; strengthen protections for Northeastern citizens living outside the region and take concrete steps to curb racial discrimination and hate crimes nationwide.
Meanwhile, NPYF unit has extended condolences to Anjel Chakma’s family, friends, and loved ones.