The year 2025 is ending with two sad news. One, the murder of a youth from Tripura in Dehradun by a group of youths because of his appearance, and two, the lethal attack on a migrant labourer by some juveniles in Tamil Nadu. In Dehradun on December 9, an MBA student, Anjel Chakma, went to the local market with his brother Michael, where they were accosted by some local youths who taunted them with comments like "Chinky", "Momos". They attacked both the brothers, and during the fight, Anjel was stabbed with a knife. Anjel died in the hospital after battling death for 17 days.
Dehradun police has arrested five youths, of whom two were juveniles. The main accused fled to Nepal, and a police team has been sent to nab him. During the fight, Anjel repeatedly told them, "I am not Chinese, I am an Indian", but the attackers did not spare him. After protests erupted in Tripura, Chief Minister Manik Saha spoke to his counterpart in Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami. The Uttarakhand CM spoke to Anjel’s father, Tarun Chakma, a BSF jawan and assured him that justice will be done.
The role of the Uttarakhand Police has also come into question. Tarun Chakma said that when police did nothing after the attack, he reached Dehradun, collected and showed CCTV footage to police, but police refused to file an FIR. He then spoke to senior BSF officers, asked North-East state leaders to phone police, and after three days, the FIR was registered. Tarun Chakma said it was really heartbreaking for a father who, instead of attending to his injured son, had to make rounds of the police. “Nothing can be more saddening”, he said.
Dehradun SSP Ajai Singh said the fight was not due to racial comments, but because of a fight between two groups. It is up to the prosecutors to decide the real reason behind the attack. Students from the North East studying in Uttarakhand are worried. They are demanding a strong law to prevent harassment of North-East students on the grounds of race.
In the second incident in Tamil Nadu, a migrant worker was attacked with a sickle by four juveniles inside a passenger train running from Chennai. The worker, Siraj, tried to stop the youths, who took him to an isolated place near Thiruttani station and attacked him with sickles. The attackers made a video and posted it on social media with a victory ‘V’ sign. All four attackers were juveniles and were under the influence of ganja.
The murder in Uttarakhand and the lethal attack on a migrant in Tamil Nadu are dark spots on our society, and it will take years to wash them off. Nobody thought such brutal incidents would happen at the fag end of the year in the midst of festivities. Four other similar incidents have also taken place this month. In Odisha, two migrant workers were lynched, while in Kerala, a 31-year-old man was killed on suspicion that he was a Bangladeshi.
Reels of such attacks were posted on social media, which is worrying. It shows the level of hate in the minds of those who committed these crimes. One cannot ignore such hateful acts being promoted through social media. Incidents of hate crimes cannot be taken as stray incidents. Now is the time for all state governments to rise above politics and deal with such incidents with an iron hand. If protection is not provided to outsiders, the malady can become deeper.
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