The RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma have spoken out against the killing of a Tripura student in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand last week.
Talking to the media in Guwahati on Thursday, Sarma called for immediate arrest of the main accused who is still absconding.
"If the accused are given harsh punishment, it will send a strong signal to the entire nation, and such incidents will hopefully not recur," Sarma said while interacting with media persons in Guwahati.
The Assam chief minister said Indians in the rest of the country should “educate” themselves about North East India to avoid such incidents.
Sarma, who has often been criticised for his communal comments against the country’s largest minority, said the arrests and severe punishment could work as a deterrent against similar crimes.
The people of north east India "are proud Indians and the people in the rest of the country should be educated about the region and its people", he said.
His remarks came against the backdrop of the death of Anjel Chakma, a final-year MBA student from Tripura, who died on 26 December after being hospitalised for 17 days following an attack at a roadside canteen in Dehradun.
Chakma’s father has alleged that his son was assaulted while defending his younger brother, who was allegedly targeted with racial slurs and called “Chinese”.
Calling the murder as "really sad and unfortunate", Sarma said. "We condemn the incident and offered our condolences to the bereaved family. There was no such incident during the last five years, and "we hope that it does not happen again."
Asked whether the Assam government has data regarding the number of students studying outside, Sarma said that at present, there is no such data but if necessary, it can be collected and maintained.
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.
"Our investigation so far has found no evidence of racial discrimination or violence," the Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajay Singh said.
The SSP said five of the six accused named in the FIR were taken into custody. Two of them were found to be underage and sent to a 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.
On Wednesday, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had appealed for unity and social harmony, urging people to rise above divisions of caste, wealth, language and region, amid growing concern over attacks on migrants.
Addressing a gathering at Sonpairi village in Chhattisgarh, Bhagwat said people must not judge others by identity markers and should see the country as belonging to everyone.
“Do not judge people by caste, wealth, language or region. Treat everyone as your own. The entire India is mine,” he said.
Reiterating his call for harmony, the RSS chief said eliminating discrimination was the first step towards social cohesion.
“The first step towards harmony is removing feelings of separation and discrimination from one’s mind and treating everyone as one’s own. The entire country belongs to everyone and this spirit is true social harmony,” he said.
Bhagwat also advocated open access to public facilities and religious spaces, urging that these should be available to all without distinction.
He described such measures as acts of unity rather than sources of conflict, signalling the importance of equal opportunity in public life.
His appeal was framed as a reminder of the constitutional principles of equality and non-discrimination.
Referring to rising crimes against minorities in Bangladesh, Bhagwat called for introspection and constructive solutions.
“We are Hindus and wherever we see issues, whether related to our personal life or national. Discussions over it never reap any good. We must always ponder about the solutions,” he said.
RJD MP Manoj Jha asked whose ideology the RSS chief represented and which party drew inspiration from him.
“After his extensive statement, who should be the first to heed his words? Whose ideology does he represent, and which political party draws inspiration from him? It's the BJP, isn't it?” Jha said.
Citing the Tripura student’s alleged racial abuse, Jha added, “Right now, in their own state of Uttarakhand, a child from Tripura is murdered. I haven't heard a single statement from him on this. The blatant form of linguistic and racial discrimination that we are witnessing - when so much poison was being sown - he remained continuously silent. Now the poison has reached every nostril, every lung.”