Students : from the Northeast march by candlelight in Dehradun to seek Anjel Chakma’s justice

Students: In protest at the death of 24-year-old Anjel Chakma from Tripura, students from the northeast staged a candlelight march here, shouting anti-racial discrimination slogans and calling for justice.

Students from several Dehradun colleges assembled outside Gandhi Park on Wednesday under the auspices of the ‘Unified Tripura Students Association’ (UTSA) and marched to Ghantaghar (clock tower) while holding candles.

A few students from other states joined the demonstration as well.

The students screamed phrases like “Stop Racism,” “We Are Indians,” and “We Want Justice” while holding banners with Chakma’s image.

The general secretary of the UTSA in Dehradun, Churanta Tripura, said that the police were not considering the issue as one involving racism because they were attempting to conceal it.

Additionally, he said that the police requested that they halt the protest march, citing traffic problems brought on by the New Year’s holiday.

On December 9, several young people reportedly assaulted and gravely wounded Chakma, a final-year MBA student at a private institution here, with a knife and a brass knuckle. After spending 17 days in the hospital, he passed away on December 26.

The Dehradun police said that they have not yet discovered any proof of racial prejudice, despite the fact that Chakma’s relatives and friends have described the event as the consequence of racist insults.

Students go from all across the nation to study at Dehradun, including nearly 2,000 from the northeast, according to Dehradun SSP Ajay Singh.

According to him, the city is home to over 250 students from Tripura alone.