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New Delhi: In a shocking case, reported from Uttarakhand, a 24-year-old MBA student was attacked and injured badly, by a group of men for objecting to racial slurs. He died after 14 days in the hospital. His younger brother was also injured in the incident and continues to remain in hospital. Both of them hailed from Tripura.
According to a report in the Times of India, the young man, Anjel Chakma was stabbed on December 9 by a group of 6 men. They reportedly abused the 2 brothers with racial slurs, and Chakma responded "We are not Chinese. We are Indians. What certificate should we show to prove that?"
This retort angered the 6 men and they attacked the 2 brothers. According to Chakma's younger brother Michael, they were not only beaten up but also attacked with knives.
The attack took place in the local market in the Selaqui area of Uttarakhand's capital. According to Michael's account, they were deliberately stopped by the men while they were on a regular visit to the local store to get groceries and subjected to racial slurs. To this, he said his brother gave a very calm response, but even then the men got angry and started attacking them.
Both the brothers had been living and studying in Dehradun for more than a year now. The attack left Chakma with serious injuries to the neck and spine and Michael was lso severely injured. The 2 were admitted to a hospital on December 9, the day of the attack, where Chakma died of his injuries. Michael continues to fight for his life.
On Saturday Anjel Chakma's body was flown to his home state, Tripura. As his last rites were conducted locals erupted in anger. They questioned the continued racial abuse that people from the region are subjected to when they move to other parts of the country for work or study.
Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, chairman of Tipra Motha Party was quoted as saying, "It is tragic that the patriotic people of the northeast are called Chinese and are 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."
He demanded justice for the victim's family.
Suraj Debbarma, state president of Youth Tripura Federation, alleged that people from the northeast region face racial slurs and xenophobic attacks regularly when they move to the north of the country. He reminded that the treatment meted out to students from north India is very different when they join central universities in the region. He said, "They are welcomed like fellow countrymen."
The police meanwhile have registered a case in the tragic death. An FIR was lodged in the matter on December 12, following a complaint from Michael. The police managed to apprehend 5 of the accused, including 2 juveniles on December 14. The main accused in the case however managed to flee to Nepal. Teams have been dispatched to apprehend him at the earliest, said police personnel.
The main accused has been identified as Yagya Awasthi. The Dehradun Police has announced a cash reward of Rs 25,000 has been announced for any information which leads police to the accused.
The accused were charged under BNS sections - 103(1) (murder) and 3(5) (committing crime with common intention). Initially the case was filed under BNS sections 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 118 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons), and 351 (3) (criminal intimidation). Following a statement from the doctor, attempted murder charges under Section 109 and criminal conspiracy under Section 61 were added to the case.
Following the death of Anjel, the police added murder charges to the case. Efforts are on to nab the main accused in the case, said officials.
