Rijiju calls for strong protection of Northeast people after Tripura student’s killing in Dehradun

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday stressed the urgent need to ensure the safety and dignity of people from India’s Northeast following the death of Angel Chakma, an MBA student from Tripura, who was brutally attacked in Dehradun in Uttarakhand.

Reacting to the incident, Rijiju said there must be robust protection for people from the Northeast and noted that the Uttarakhand government had acted swiftly in the matter. He said several accused had already been arrested, underlining that the case should not be viewed through a political lens. According to him, both the state and central governments were taking the issue seriously.

The Union Minister highlighted steps taken by the Centre in recent years to address such incidents, particularly in the national capital. He recalled that earlier, incidents involving people from the Northeast were frequent, but the establishment of a special police unit in Delhi led to a significant decline in such cases. Rijiju described racism as an “ideological illness” that exists among a small section of people and stressed the need for greater awareness to eradicate such mindsets.

Emphasising that discrimination has no place in Indian society, Rijiju said racism should concern everyone, not just people from the Northeast, as such incidents could happen to anyone irrespective of caste, religion or region. He added that India’s diversity must be protected and that acts of racial prejudice undermine the country’s core values of equality and unity.

Angel Chakma was attacked by a group of assailants armed with knives and blunt objects in Dehradun on December 9 and later succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at a hospital. Police have so far arrested five people in connection with the case, including two minors who have been sent to a juvenile reform home.

Authorities are continuing raids to arrest the remaining absconding accused. A reward of ₹25,000 has been announced for information leading to the arrest of one of the suspects, and a police team has also been sent to Nepal as part of the search operation, according to the Uttarakhand Chief Minister’s Office.