Anjel Chakma Death: Father Insists on Racial Angle Despite Police Denial, Alleges Attempt to Dilute Case

New Delhi: Dehradun Police on Monday denied any racial motive in the murder of Northeast student Anjel Chakma, stating that no reference to racial slurs were mentioned in the initial complaint or FIR. The claim has been strongly contested by Anjel Chakma’s father, Tarun Prasad Chakma a serving Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, who has re-affirmed the racial angle in the killing of his son in an interaction with Republic.

He rejected the police assertion, reiterating that the attack on his son was preceded by racial abuse and that this aspect was communicated to the authorities from the beginning. The BSF personnel maintained that the racial motive behind the assault should not be ignored or diluted during the investigation.

Earlier, Anjel Chakma’s uncle Momen Chakma, in an exclusive interaction with Republic, said that Anjel and his friends were subjected to racial slurs such as “Chinki”, “Momo”, and “Chinese”, and were attacked after they objected.

“Only those from the Northeast whose facial features look tribal are targeted. Those who look non-tribal are not mocked. Michael and Anjel objected to the racial abuse, and that is what led to the attack. This was informed to the police from the beginning”, he said.

Momen Chakma further accused the police of attempting to suppress the racial angle to prevent the issue from escalating. "If the killers are not punished, it will give impunity to those who carry the same racist mentality”, Momen Chakma said.

“Police are trying to dilute the case because racism is a big issue and it would bring embarrassment. But this is the real issue. Michael had told them from the very beginning that they were mocked”, he alleged. The families stand directly contradicts the police claim that the racial angle emerged days after the incident, further intensifying scrutiny over the handling of the case.

Speaking to Republic, Dehradun SSP Ajay Singh said that the case was initially registered under attempt to murder due to the serious nature of injuries sustained by the victim and was later converted to murder after the student succumbed during treatment.

“Prima facie, the investigation process involves receiving a complaint and investigating the allegations mentioned in it. The complaint, application, and FIR do not mention any racial slurs. This angle surfaced nearly 15 days later, and we are now probing it separately”, SSP Singh said.

The SSP further clarified that the accused were initially unknown, but five individuals were identified and arrested after examining CCTV footage. Raids are currently underway to arrest the sixth accused.

“The incident occurred on the evening of December 9, while the death took place on the morning of December 26. If any testimony or statement had come forward earlier, action would have been taken immediately”, he added.

Addressing allegations of caste-based crime, the SSP stated that while the Chakma community is not notified as a Scheduled Tribe in Uttarakhand, the relevant SC/ST sections have been added as per legal provisions.

“If a crime is committed against a member of the SC/ST community and the punishment exceeds 10 years, that section is applied. Accordingly, necessary sections have been added”, he said, while also noting that the accused themselves are from Northeast states and belong to the same community.

Meanwhile, Dehradun Police said that all aspects of the case, including allegations of racial abuse, are being examined and that the probe will continue strictly on the basis of evidence.

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