No evidence of racism in Tripura student’s killing so far: Uttarakhand police

The Uttarakhand police said on Monday (December 29) that so far they have not found any evidence of racism in the fatal attack on the 24-year-old student from Tripura, Angel Chakma. The police also pointed out that one of the five accused arrested in the case hails from Manipur.

According to PD Bhatt, an investigator, the allegations claiming that racial slurs were hurled at Angel before his murder are unfounded so far.

“We have found no evidence so far to link the incident with racism. There is no basis for such allegations,” he said as quoted by the Hindustan Times.

‘One of the accused from Manipur’

Elaborating further, Bhatt stated that Angel was attacked near a liquor shop where the accused from Manipur, identified as Suraj, was celebrating his son’s birthday. Bhatt said Angel and his brother Michael also bought liquor from the shop.

“An argument broke out between the two sides, which later escalated, resulting in the death of Chakma,” he said.

Victim’s brother alleges racist slurs

However, Michael said that when he and Angel went out to buy groceries on December 9, a group of inebriated people started a fight with them and used racist slurs. He further alleged that they stabbed Angel, following which he was rushed to a hospital.

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Bhatt said that it was still not clear who stabbed Chakma, adding that those arrested have claimed that the absconding accused stabbed the deceased.

“Those arrested are claiming that the absconding accused stabbed the victim. It will only be clear after his arrest who actually carried out the stabbing,” he said, adding that none of the accused have any criminal record. According to police, two of the five accused in the case are minors.

Victim’s father appeals to govt

Earlier, Tarun Prasad Chakma, Angel’s father, urged the government to ensure equal treatment and protection for people from the Northeast, stating that they are Indians too.

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Speaking to ANI, Tarun said students from the region travel to cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru for education and employment and should not be treated adversely.

He appealed to the authorities to ensure equal treatment for all citizens. Tarun, who serves as a BSF jawan, also recounted the circumstances surrounding the attack on his son.