‘I’m Indian’: Tripura student’s last words before he was killed in a racial attack; protests erupt seeking justice | India News
Family and friends pay tribute to Anjel Chakma at his home in Tripura
DEHRADUN: A 24-year-old MBA student from Tripura, who confronted a group of men hurling racial slurs at him and his younger brother, died in a Dehradun hospital on Friday after fighting for his life for over 14 days. The stabbing happened on Dec 9, minutes after Anjel Chakma said, “We are not Chinese… We are Indians. What certificate should we show to prove that?” The six men allegedly responded with brutal violence.What began as a regular grocery run to the local market in the Selaqui area of Uttarakhand’s capital city turned into a fatal confrontation that evening. Anjel and his brother Michael, both students in Dehradun for over a year, were stopped and taunted by a group of men who allegedly referred to them in derogatory terms. When Anjel calmly stood his ground, the situation turned uglier.
‘Tragic that patriotic people of northeast are referred to as Chinese and attacked’Michael would later tell police and friends how his brother calmly but firmly corrected them. That assertion, of identity and dignity, was met with knives. “Soon after Anjel replied, they attacked him and his brother while hurling abuses,” said a friend of Anjel’s, who remained at the hospital through the two weeks that followed. “Anjel suffered serious injuries to his neck and spine. Michael is also injured and still in a serious condition.“The friend requested anonymity, but his voice carried anger and disbelief. “He was one of the calmest, friendliest people. We’re all broken by what happened.” Anjel’s body was flown to Agartala on Saturday, as Tripura erupted in anger. His family was assisted by Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, chairman of Tipra Motha Party and a member of the erstwhile Tripura royal family, who had been in touch with the family since the day of the incident and had supported his medical treatment.Speaking to TOI, Debbarma said on Saturday, “It’s tragic that the patriotic people of the northeast are called Chinese and attacked. Those who hurl racist slurs forget that it is because of the brave people of the northeast that China cannot enter the country. These incidents don’t just hurt families. They divide our people. And when we are divided, we are vulnerable. We don’t want that. We want justice.”Suraj Debbarma, state president of Youth Tipra Federation, the youth wing of Tipra Motha, who helped coordinate Anjel’s last rites, said: “People from the northeast face racial slurs and xenophobic attacks in the north regularly. But when students from north Indian states come to central institutions in the northeast, they are welcomed like fellow countrymen. We lost an innocent soul in a hate crime. That’s the tragedy.“Police said the case was registered on Dec 12 on a complaint filed by Michael Chakma, 21. Five of the six accused – including two juveniles – were apprehended on Dec 14.Senior sub-inspector Jitendra Kumar of Selaqui police station said on Sunday, “Yagya Awasthi, the main accused, is suspected to have fled to Nepal… Two police teams have been dispatched to track him down and nab him, and a reward of Rs 25,000 has been announced. After Anjel’s death, we added additional BNS sections – 103(1) (murder) and 3(5) (committing crime with common intention).”Initially, the FIR was filed under BNS sections 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 118 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons), and 351(3) (criminal intimidation). On Dec 14, based on doctors’ statements, sections 109 (attempt to murder) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) were added. The charges were upgraded again after Anjel’s death. In his final days, friends recalled how Anjel struggled but never regained full consciousness. Protests have begun in colleges in the northeast, demanding a national law against racial hate crimes. In Dehradun, too, student organisations are beginning to speak up.
