A senior police official claimed that there was no racial angle to the murder of a Tripura student in Dehradun.
Angel Chakma, a 24-year-old final year MBA student at a private university, sustained serious injuries when he was allegedly attacked by some youngsters with a knife and a bracelet on December 9. He died 17 days later. Police had said Angel, a resident of Unakoti district of Tripura, and his younger brother Michael had an argument with Suraj Khawas (22), a resident of Manipur currently living in Dehradun, and his five friends in Selakui market on December 9. The accused allegedly attacked Angel with knives and brass knuckles.
Even as Angel's father, Tarun Chakma, who is posted in Manipur with the Border Security Force (BSF), alleged that "racial slurs" were hurled at his son by the accused, who called him "Chinese", Ajay Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police, Dehradun, said the derogatory comments were made "in jest".
According to an NDTV report, the senior police official argued that the remarks made against the deceased do not fall into the category of a racist slur, as one of the people involved in the incident also hails from the same state as Angel.
"Some derogatory remarks were being exchanged among themselves by a group of people sitting together, and somehow the impression was created that the comments were being directed at them. It was in this confusion that the clash occurred, and this entire incident resulted from that clash," NDTV quoted the police officer as saying.
He said one of the boys from the Northeast admitted during interrogation that the comments were not directed at anyone else. "They were simply making those remarks among themselves in jest," the police official said, ruling out a racist angle in the crime.
Meanwhile, Angel's father urged the government to ensure that students from the Northeast are not discriminated against. "Our children from the Northeast go to various places like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru to work or study, they should not be treated so adversely. We are all Indians as well," he said, according to news agency ANI.