The Dehradun Police on Tuesday said the probe into the death of Tripura student Anjel Chakma has so far found no evidence of racial abuse, and that the youth was assaulted after tempers flared up when he objected to some "banter" among the attackers who had come in a group to a liquor shop.
Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajay Singh said the police had taken note of social media posts attributing a racial motive to the incident. "Our investigation so far has found no evidence of racial discrimination or violence," the SSP said.
He said that between December 9, the day of the incident, and December 26, when Anjel died, no complaints of racial abuse were made during interactions with the police. The SSP added that the FIR filed in the case "does not mention any allegations of racial bias." Providing details of the incident that occurred in the Selaqui area, Singh said a birthday party was hosted on December 9 by one of the accused, Suraj Khwas, a resident of Manipur.
The SSP said the two groups, including the deceased and his brother on one side and the six persons on the other, had a heated argument. In the confusion, the dispute escalated and led to the incident.
"There was some banter among the guests. The victim’s side found certain remarks offensive, which led a dispute. In the fight that followed, Anjel Chakma and his brother Michael Chakma were injured. Anjel died during treatment at a hospital," the SSP said, adding that Anjel had suffered fatal injuries to his spine and neck in the incident.
The SSP said five of the six accused named in the FIR taken into custody. Two of them were found to be underage and sent to correction home, while three are under judicial custody. The other accused, Yagyraj Awasthi (22), a Nepalese national, who had earlier worked in Haridwar and other places, is absconding.
"Our teams are working to trace him," he said, adding that a bounty of Rs 25,000 has been announced on his name and a non-bailable warrant has been issued.
Singh said statements of local residents have been recorded and digital evidence, including CCTV footage, has been collected. "So far, no instance of any accused using racial slurs against the deceased has come to light," he said.
The SSP added that the investigation is being carried out fairly and in a transparent manner, and that strict legal action will be taken accordingly.
Anjel Chakma, a final-year MBA student at a private university here, was seriously injured when he was allegedly attacked by some youngsters with a knife and a bracelet on December 9. He died on December 26, after being hospitalised for 17 days.
His father, a BSF jawan currently posted in Tangjeng in Manipur, had alleged that his son was "brutally attacked" when he tried to defend his brother, who faced racial slurs and was called "Chinese" by the attackers.
The assailants called his sons "Chinese momo" and hurled other racial abuses, the father of the victim told PTI over the phone. Anjel told them that he "was also Indian, not Chinese" but they attacked him with knives and blunt objects, the devastated father said.
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