A 24-year-old MBA student from Tripura died in a Dehradun hospital on Friday after battling for his life for more than 14 days. The student, Anjel Chakma, was stabbed after confronting a group of men who allegedly hurled racial slurs at him and his younger brother. His brother also remains hospitalised with serious injuries.
The attack took place on December 9, just minutes after Anjel was heckled by a mob in Uttarakhand.
“We are not Chinese. We are Indians. What certificate should we show to prove that?” Times of India quoted him as saying.
What started as a normal trip to buy groceries in the Selaqui area of Dehradun turned into a deadly incident. Anjel and his brother Michael, who had been studying in the city for over a year, were stopped and mocked by a group of men who allegedly used derogatory language against them. When Anjel calmly objected and stood up for himself, the situation quickly escalated.
Protests have now begun in colleges across the northeast, with students demanding a national law against racial hate crimes. Student groups in Dehradun have also started raising their voices in protest.
Brother and friend recount moments after the attack
Michael later told the police and friends that his brother responded firmly but peacefully to the taunts. That assertion of dignity was followed by a brutal attack. “Soon after Anjel replied, they attacked him and his brother while hurling abuses,” one of Anjel’s friends who stayed at the hospital throughout the two-week ordeal told TOI.
“Anjel suffered serious injuries to his neck and spine. Michael is also injured and still in a serious condition,” he added.
The friend, who requested anonymity said, “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 anger spread across Tripura. His family received support from Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, chairman of the Tipra Motha Party and a member of the former Tripura royal family. Debbarma had been in constant touch with the family since the incident and helped with Anjel’s medical treatment.
‘These incidents divide our people,’ says Pradyot Debbarma
The news outlet reported Debbarma as saying, “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 the Youth Tipra Federation and part of the team that helped organise Anjel’s last rites, said such incidents were not new. “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 December 12 based on a complaint filed by Michael Chakma, 21. Five of the six accused, including two juveniles, were arrested on December 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.” He added that two police teams have been sent to trace him and a reward of Rs 25,000 has been announced. “After Anjel’s death, we added additional BNS sections – 103@ (murder) and 30 (committing crime with common intention).”
Initially, the FIR included sections 115@ (voluntarily causing hurt), 118 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons), and 3510 (criminal intimidation). On December 14, sections 109 (attempt to murder) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) were added based on doctors’ statements. After Anjel’s death, the charges were upgraded once again.
In his final days, friends said Anjel struggled to survive but never fully regained consciousness.