Dehradun, Dec 30: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday spoke to Tarun Prasad Chakma, father of 24-year-old Tripura student Anjel Chakma who was brutally murdered in Dehradun earlier this month, assuring him of strict punishment for the culprits.
The CM informed Chakma’s father that a special team has been dispatched to Nepal to apprehend the absconding main accused, Yagya Awasthi. A reward of ₹25,000 has been announced for information leading to his arrest.
Expressing deep sorrow over the incident, Dhami assured the bereaved family that the Uttarakhand government would ensure exemplary punishment for the guilty. He emphasized that Uttarakhand has traditionally been a safe destination for students from across the country and abroad, and the incident has caused distress not only to the victim’s family but to society at large.
“Such an atmosphere never existed in Uttarakhand, and the government will deal firmly with such cases,” the CM said. He also informed Chakma’s father that he spoke to Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, as well as Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh regarding the case.
Meanwhile, Dehradun SSP Ajai Singh on Monday stated that preliminary findings did not indicate the involvement of “racial slurs” in the murder. “One of the five arrested accused is a native of Manipur while the lone absconding one is of Nepalese origin,” Singh said.
“During interrogation, the accused from Manipur said they didn’t direct racial slurs at Anjel and his younger brother; rather, they were passing those remarks at each other in a ‘lighter vein’. The brothers mistook the slurs as directed at them, and amid the confusion, things escalated,” the SSP claimed.
The police version has drawn sharp criticism. Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, chairman and founder of the Tripura-based Tipra Motha party, slammed the Dhami government over announcing only ₹25,000 reward. “It is a mockery of the life lost from our Northeast. I am ready to give ₹10 lakh from my pocket to anyone for information on the whereabouts of the accused,” Debbarma said.
The MBA student from Tripura was allegedly attacked by a group of youngsters, including two juveniles, on December 9 after he objected to “racial slurs” while shopping with his younger brother in Dehradun. He succumbed to his injuries on December 26, triggering anger and outrage across the country.
The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has served notices to the Uttarakhand DGP, Dehradun DM and SP, seeking an action-taken report on the brutal murder.
