A Tripura court has extended the police custody of Delhi-based social media influencer Amir Shokeen by three days until November 15 in connection with an alleged racial abuse and harassment case involving a tribal youth from Tripura.
A district court in Tripura on Friday extended the police custody of Delhi-based social media influencer and content creator Amir Shokeen by another three days for further interrogation in connection with an alleged racial abuse and harassment case involving a tribal youth from the state.
According to police officials, the Additional District and Sessions Judge of West Tripura district in Agartala remanded Shokeen to police custody until November 15. He is scheduled to be produced before the court again on November 16.
The Tripura Police had brought Shokeen from Delhi on November 10 on transit remand in connection with the case. After his arrival in Agartala, he was produced before the Additional District and Sessions Judge, where the police sought seven days of custody for further questioning. However, the court initially granted police custody until November 12.
Following the completion of the initial remand period, police produced him before the court again on Friday, resulting in the extension of his custody by another three days.
The case was registered on October 22 under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Shokeen was initially arrested by Delhi Police from the Karol Bagh area on October 22. He was subsequently produced before the Tis Hazari Court, which remanded him to five days of police custody. Later, a Tripura Police team led by a Deputy Superintendent of Police travelled to Delhi to bring him to the northeastern state for further investigation.
Tripura Director General of Police (DGP) G.S. Rao had earlier confirmed that an FIR was registered after a video allegedly showing a young man from Tripura being subjected to racial slurs and harassment circulated on social media.
The DGP said the video came to his notice on October 21, following which he contacted the Special Commissioner of Police overseeing the Special Police Unit for the North Eastern Region of Delhi Police and the concerned Deputy Commissioner of Police.
Preliminary information suggested that the video had been recorded in Ahmedabad approximately one-and-a-half months before its circulation. The police had also established the identity of the person who uploaded the video, Rao said, assuring that appropriate legal action would be taken against those involved.
The alleged racial remarks triggered widespread condemnation and demands for strict action. Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha had directed the DGP to coordinate with Delhi Police over the incident.
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Union Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, along with leaders of the CPI-M, Congress and Tipra Motha Party, also condemned the alleged incident. Several affiliated youth and student organisations subsequently lodged police complaints in Agartala, demanding action against the accused.
The investigation is ongoing, with police continuing their questioning of Shokeen.
