'Complaint only mentioned casteist slurs': Cops dismiss 'racial slurs' in Chakma case; activists slam SSP's 'reductive' reasoning

DEHRADUN: The family of Anjel Chakma, the young Tripura native killed in Dehradun earlier this month, pushed back sharply against the city police chief's public dismissal of racial slurs as a motive behind the murder - a claim central to the family's version of events and backed, they say, by the firsthand account of Anjel's brother, Michael, who witnessed the attack. The Dehradun police, citing the ethnic background of some of the accused, said they found no indication of racial provocation in the case. The family, still grieving, called this both "premature and deeply dismissive".Momen Chakma, Anjel's uncle and among the first relatives to arrive in the city after the assault, said the police were choosing to ignore the words of the only eyewitness. "Michael is not just a family member, he's the complainant in the case. He was there when it happened. The incident lasted minutes - how do you expect anyone to stop and film something like that?" he told TOI on Tuesday. "Instead of listening to the person who saw it unfold, they are issuing public statements without even completing the investigation."Anjel and his brother Michael, were in Dehradun when they were allegedly attacked by a group of six men after objecting to their disruptive behaviour. According to Michael and other family members, the attackers shouted racial slurs - words like "Chinki", "Chinese", and "Momo" - before turning violent. Michael sustained injuries, and Anjel later succumbed to his wounds. Despite the serious allegations, Dehradun SSP Ajai Singh on Monday said the probe had so far revealed no evidence of racial slurs. He pointed out that two of the six accused were from Manipur and Nepal, which, in his view, made a racial motive unlikely. That reasoning has since triggered public criticism, particularly from members of Northeast civil society familiar with the region's complex ethnic and linguistic diversity. Suraj Debbarma, president of Youth Tipra Federation, called Singh's justification flawed and reductive. "The accused from Manipur, Suraj Khwas, is not a tribal from Manipur. He is most likely of Nepalese origin. Similarly, the other accused, Yagya Awasthi, who is claimed to be from Nepal, appears to be from the Madhesh region bordering Bihar and UP. Not every tribal in India or the Northeast has mongoloid features, and that seems to be the basis of SSP's logic," he said.On Tuesday, faced with mounting questions, Singh clarified that Michael’s complaint only mentioned “casteist slurs” and not racial ones. “The family stayed in Dehradun until Dec 27 but did not mention racial slurs to the police. If they are saying this now to the media, we are not aware of it. However, the case is still under investigation. If they want to share additional information, we are open to including it in the probe,” Singh said, adding that police were gathering all possible evidence to build a strong case before filing the chargesheet.