NHRC seeks report from Dehradun authorities over alleged racially motivated killing of Tripura student

The National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the Dehradun district magistrate and the senior superintendent of police over the alleged racially charged killing of a student from Tripura in Uttarakhand’s capital, directing them to submit an action taken report within seven days.

The commission has also asked that copies of the case proceedings be forwarded to the Uttarakhand chief secretary and the director general of police, while directing authorities to “ensure safety of the students of North Eastern region in the entire state”.

Anjel Chakma, 24, a final-year MBA student at a private university in Dehradun, was allegedly attacked by a group of youths on December 9. He succumbed to his injuries on December 26 after remaining hospitalised for 17 days. The attack allegedly involved knives and blunt objects.

According to his father, a Border Security Force jawan currently posted in Tangjeng in Manipur, the assault occurred when Anjel intervened to protect his brother, who was allegedly abused with racial slurs. The attackers allegedly called the brothers “Chinese” and “Chinese momo”. When Anjel told them he “was also Indian, not Chinese”, he was attacked, the father said.

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Taking cognisance under Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, an NHRC bench presided over by its member Priyank Kanoongo noted that the complaint alleged a “racially motivated incident” involving a student from the North-East studying outside his home state.

“The person was targeted with racial slurs and assaulted after asserting his identity as an Indian citizen,” the proceedings record. The complaint further states that the incident reflects “deep-rooted racial discrimination against people from the North-East”, along with a failure of local authorities to prevent violence and provide adequate protection.

Calling the allegations a prima facie violation of the victim’s right to life, dignity and equality, the commission directed its registry to issue notices to the district administration and police in Dehradun and seek a detailed report within a week.

On Monday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami spoke to the victim’s father and assured strict punishment for those responsible. Political leaders across party lines have since called for stronger, sustained measures to curb hate crimes against people from the North-Eastern states.