Northeast students protest at Jantar Mantar demanding justice for Anjel Chakma

Students from the Northeast on December 31 staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in the national capital, demanding justice for Tripura student Anjel Chakma, who died after sustaining stab injuries in Dehradun earlier this month.

Hundreds of students from the Northeast studying at Delhi University participated in the protest, which was organised under the banner of the Northeast Students’ Society of Delhi University (NESSDU). The demonstrators called for a thorough and impartial investigation into the killing of Chakma.

Anjel Chakma, a 24-year-old resident of Unakoti district in Tripura, was allegedly attacked by a group of six people in Dehradun on December 9 after he objected to racial slurs directed at him and his younger brother. He later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital on December 26.

According to police, five of the six accused have been arrested, while the prime accused, Yagyraj Awasthi, a resident of Nepal’s Kanchanpur district, is currently absconding.

Addressing the protest, NESSDU president Pointing Thokchom demanded that the case be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and that the victim’s family be adequately compensated. He also called for the enactment of a law to protect students from the Northeast against racial abuse and attacks.

All India Chakma Students’ Union president Biraj Chakma alleged that the Uttarakhand administration had delayed the investigation, which he said compelled students to take to the streets to demand justice.

Another student protester said he travelled to Dehradun on December 11 after learning about the incident but felt helpless due to lack of support. He claimed to have personally faced racial abuse at Delhi University and urged authorities to take steps to stop what he described as a vicious cycle of racial attacks against students from the Northeast.

The protest highlighted growing concerns among students from the Northeast over their safety and treatment outside the region and renewed calls for stronger legal safeguards and accountability.