A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court, seeking that racial abuse and violence against citizens from Northeastern states be declared a distinct category of “hate crime,” following the recent death of a Tripura student in an alleged racial attack in Dehradun.
The plea, moved by advocate Anoop Prakash Awasthi, urges the top court to direct the Centre and states to put in place special police units, permanent nodal agencies and awareness programmes in educational institutions to prevent racial discrimination.
It also asks the court to frame interim guidelines to address such incidents until a comprehensive law is enacted.
The plea also contends that such incidents reflect a broader pattern of racial abuse faced by people from the Northeastern states and underscores the need for legal recognition of these acts as hate crimes, along with institutional mechanisms for prevention and redress.
The petition has been filed in connection with the death of Anjel Chakma, a final-year MBA student from Tripura, who succumbed to his injuries on December 26 after being attacked and subsequently being hospitalised for 17 days.
According to his father, a BSF jawan currently posted in Manipur, Anjel was assaulted on December 9 when he intervened to defend his younger brother, who was allegedly subjected to racial slurs and called “Chinese” by a group of youngsters.
The attackers allegedly hurled racist abuses and assaulted Anjel with sharp and blunt objects after he asserted that he was Indian.
However, Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Singh rejected the allegation of a racial motive, stating that the incident stemmed from a personal altercation following a joke and that no racial angle had emerged during the investigation.
“There was no provocation,” Singh told India Today TV when asked whether the victim had faced a racial attack as claimed by his brother.
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Published By:
Prateek Chakraborty
Published On:
Dec 30, 2025
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