A promising young life was extinguished by racial violence in Dehradun, as 24-year-old Anjel Chakma, a final-year MBA student from Tripura, died on December 26, seventeen days after a brutal assault. The attack, which occurred on December 9, saw Chakma and his younger brother Michael targeted with racist slurs like "Chinese" and "momo" before being physically attacked, leading to fatal stab wounds for Anjel.
The Fatal Night and a Delayed FIR
On the evening of December 9, Anjel Chakma was out with his 21-year-old brother Michael in Dehradun when a group of six individuals, including two juveniles, allegedly picked a fight that quickly turned racial. According to Kwthar Debbarma, Secretary of the Uttarakhand Tripura Students’ Association, the assailants began hurling racist abuse. "They started arguing, and when the boys responded, they called them names like ‘momo’ and ‘Chinese’," Debbarma told The Indian Express. Anjel reportedly told the group he was from Tripura and was Indian, but the taunts continued.
As the brothers tried to leave the scene on their motorcycle, the situation turned violent. The men hit Michael on the head. Anjel got off the vehicle to intervene, at which point one of the accused allegedly used a knife to stab him. Despite undergoing surgery and initially showing signs of recovery, Anjel's health deteriorated, and he was placed on ventilator support before passing away on December 26.
The family has highlighted significant delays in the police response. Although a complaint was filed on December 10, the FIR was registered only on December 12, and arrests were made on December 14. Anjel's father, BSF Head Constable Tarun Prasad Chakma, stated that police initially refused to register a report, only doing so after pressure from the All India Chakma Students Union and senior officers.
A Bright Future Cruelly Cut Short
Anjel Chakma was a day scholar at Jigyasa University in Dehradun and hailed from Unakoti district in Tripura. The son of a BSF personnel, he came from a middle-class family that had taken an education loan to fund his MBA. Described as a bright student and a football enthusiast, he had already secured a placement with a French multinational company dealing in sporting goods, a proud achievement for his family.
University officials remembered him as an active and promising student. Dr. Shankar Ramamoorthy, the Vice-Chancellor, recalled visiting Anjel in the hospital. "He told me that he was apprehensive about missing his exams. He even told me that he has high bone density and will get well in no time," Ramamoorthy said. Dr. Vivek D Singh, the Dean, noted that Anjel was among the first in his batch to receive a placement offer and was very excited about his future.
His uncle, Momen Chakma, expressed the family's devastation, calling Anjel a "brilliant and promising boy." He emphasized the need for stringent punishment to deter such crimes. "We want strong punishment for the culprits so no other family has to bear the loss that we had to," he said.
Political Condemnation and Calls for Change
The incident has triggered widespread condemnation and protests. In Agartala, Tripura's capital, protesters demanded harsh punishment for the accused. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha stated he had spoken to his Uttarakhand counterpart, Pushkar Singh Dhami, who assured that justice would be delivered. Dhami called the incident "unacceptable" and vowed strict action against anti-social elements.
The case also drew a strong response from Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, who is also a leader of the recently launched 'One Northeast' party. "Anjel Chakma from Tripura lost his life after facing brutal racial abuse in Dehradun. This is heartbreaking and unacceptable," Sangma said. "People from the North East are as Indian as every citizen of this country. Racism should never be normalised."
Uttarakhand police have arrested five men, who are now in judicial custody. A sixth accused, identified as Yagya Raj Awasthi, is absconding, and a reward of Rs 25,000 has been announced for information leading to his arrest. Two police teams have been dispatched to apprehend him.
In the aftermath, University V-C Dr. Ramamoorthy pointed to a need for broader societal change. "The taunt was that he was Chinese. This local sentiment has to be changed, and it requires a policy-level intervention," he said, adding that the campus would be sensitized to be more accommodating to students from the Northeast. The tragedy has left the family shattered, with Anjel's mother, Gourimita Chakma, now fearful of sending her surviving son Michael back to Uttarakhand.
