No racial angle in Tripura student’s death: Police

The murder of student Angel Chakma from Tripura, who died on December 26 after being stabbed during an altercation with a youth on December 9, was not racially motivated.

Based on preliminary investigation, the police have stated that one of the accused hails from Manipur, one from Nepal, while another is a tribal. The unfortunate incident stemmed from miscommunication, the police said.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami spoke to the deceased’s father on the phone and assured him of strict punishment for the accused. The Chief Minister also said that he has spoken to Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha as well as Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh regarding the incident. Dhami stressed that the State Government completely stands with the victim’s family.

Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police Ajai Singh clarified that the accused were also from the North East. According to the investigation so far, one group was talking among themselves, but it appeared that their comments were directed at another group. The argument escalated and later turned into a violent incident. He said that it’s being stated on social media that the crime was racially motivated.  

However, the racial angle has not emerged in the police investigation so far. Chakma’s family has not referred to this aspect either in their complaint/FIR. Manipur native Suraj Khwas was joking around with his friends on his birthday on the day of the crime when the Chakmas felt the comments were directed towards them.

This resulted in a verbal argument, which escalated into a violent altercation resulting in injuries to Angel and his brother Michael. According to the police, among the accused, Yakshraj hails from Nepal, and one of the juveniles hails from the Buxa scheduled tribe.

All the accused are from mountainous regions and similar in physical appearance. Questioning the people around the scene of the crime, the police said that they did not learn of any racial comments made by the accused against the Chakmas. The crime appears to have been committed in a fit of anger, with no evidence being found so far to link it with any racial motivation, the police said.

Five accused, including two juveniles, have been nabbed in the case so far, with one accused reported to have absconded to Nepal.