Chakma Development Foundation Demands Fast-Track Trial and Anti-Racial Violence Law After Murder of Tripura Student Anjel Chakma
By Our Correspondent
Agartala, December 27, 2025
The Chakma Development Foundation of India (CDFI) has urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to ensure a fast-track trial in a designated court for the racially motivated murder of Anjel Chakma, a Scheduled Tribe student from Tripura, and to enact a comprehensive anti-racial violence law to curb growing attacks against people from the North East.
Anjel Chakma succumbed to his injuries on 26 December 2025 at Graphic Era Hospital in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, after battling for life for more than two weeks. The incident has sparked nationwide concern over persistent racial discrimination and violence faced by North Eastern communities outside the region.
According to the CDFI, the incident occurred on 9 December 2025 around 6:00 pm, when Anjel Chakma and his younger brother Michael Chakma went to Selakui Market in Dehradun to buy groceries. A group of six local persons allegedly began harassing them without any provocation, targeting them solely on the basis of their physical appearance. The attackers reportedly used racial slurs such as 'Nepali', 'Chinese', 'Chinki' and 'momos', along with abusive language.
When the brothers protested against the racial abuse, the situation escalated into violence. Michael Chakma was hit on the head with a kada, while Anjel Chakma was brutally stabbed in the neck and stomach with a knife, leaving him critically injured. The assailants fled the spot after allegedly threatening to kill them.
Strongly criticising the police response, Mr Suhas Chakma, Founder of the CDFI, alleged serious lapses by the Uttarakhand Police. He stated that the police took three days to register the FIR and failed to invoke appropriate legal provisions, including Section 109 (attempt to murder) and Section 117(4) (grievous hurt by a mob on grounds such as race or caste) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), as well as relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. According to him, these delays enabled the prime accused to flee, who is yet to be arrested.
Mr Chakma further said that the death of Anjel Chakma mirrors earlier incidents of racial violence, including the killing of Nido Tania from Arunachal Pradesh in Delhi. He recalled that following that incident, the Ministry of Home Affairs had constituted the MP Bezbaruah Committee, which in 2014 recommended either the enactment of a new law or amendments to existing criminal laws to specifically address racial discrimination and violence.
Terming the provisions introduced under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita as inadequate, the CDFI noted that sections such as Section 196 (promoting enmity between groups) and Section 197 (acts prejudicial to national integration) do not sufficiently address racially motivated violence against people from the North East. The organisation reiterated its demand for a separate and dedicated anti-racial violence law, as recommended by the Bezbaruah Committee.
In its memorandum to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the CDFI has also demanded that the Government of Uttarakhand invoke murder charges under Section 103(2) of the BNS, 2023, along with the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, ensure the immediate arrest of the prime accused, and conduct an inquiry into the alleged lapses by Selakui Police Station, including the refusal and delay in registering the FIR.
Additionally, the organisation has called for the establishment of a dedicated helpline for North-East citizens in Dehradun on the lines of the Special Police Unit for North-Eastern Region (SPUNER), and for the payment of compensation amounting to Rs 1 crore to the next of kin of Anjel Chakma, as well as compensation for the injuries suffered by his brother Michael Chakma.
The CDFI stressed that unless swift justice is delivered and systemic safeguards are put in place, incidents of racial violence against people from the North East will continue to erode faith in the rule of law and the promise of equality enshrined in the Constitution.
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