CDFI urges fast-track trial in Anjel Chakma murder case, demands anti-racial violence law, police accountability, and justice for North East communities amid rising racial attacks in India.
The Chakma Development Foundation of India (CDFI) has urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to ensure a fast-track trial in a designated court in connection with the racially motivated murder of Anjel Chakma, a Scheduled Tribe student from Tripura. The organisation has also called for a comprehensive anti-racial violence law to curb rising 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, triggering nationwide concern over persistent racial discrimination and violence faced by North Eastern communities living outside the region.
According to the CDFI, the incident took place on 9 December 2025 around 6 pm, when Anjel 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 provocation, targeting them on the basis of physical appearance and abusing them with racial slurs such as “Nepali”, “Chinese”, “Chinki” and “momos”.
When the brothers protested, the situation turned violent. Michael Chakma was reportedly hit on the head with a kada, while Anjel was stabbed in the neck and stomach, leaving him critically injured. The assailants allegedly fled after issuing death threats.
CDFI Founder Suhas Chakma strongly criticised the police response, alleging serious lapses by Uttarakhand Police. He said the police took three days to register the FIR and failed to invoke appropriate sections, 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 provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. These delays, he said, enabled the prime accused to abscond, and he is yet to be arrested.
He added that Anjel’s death mirrors earlier incidents of racial violence, including the killing of Nido Tania from Arunachal Pradesh in Delhi. He recalled that in the aftermath, the Ministry of Home Affairs had formed the M.P. Bezbaruah Committee, which in 2014 recommended either a new law or amendments to existing laws to specifically address racial discrimination and violence.
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Terming provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita inadequate, the CDFI observed that sections such as Section 196 (promoting enmity between groups) and Section 197 (acts prejudicial to national integration) do not specifically deal with racially motivated crime 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 demanded that the Uttarakhand government 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 order an inquiry into alleged lapses by Selakui Police Station, including refusal and delay in registering the FIR.
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The organisation also called for a dedicated helpline for North-East citizens in Dehradun on the lines of the Special Police Unit for North-Eastern Region (SPUNER), payment of Rs 1 crore as compensation to the next of kin of Anjel Chakma, and compensation for the injuries sustained by his brother Michael.
The CDFI warned that unless swift justice is delivered and systemic safeguards are strengthened, recurring incidents of racial violence against people from the North East will continue to erode faith in the rule of law and the constitutional promise of equality.
