Torch rally in Agartala demands justice for Tripura student killed in Dehradun

Agartala: The North-East Youth Congress Coordination Committee (NEYCCC), on Saturday, organised a large scale torch rally here to protest the killing of Tripura student Angel Chakma, who was brutally assaulted in Dehradun and later succumbed to his injuries in December last year.

Angel Chakma, a 24-year-old MBA final-year student from Machmara in Tripura's Unakoti district and the son of a Border Security Force (BSF) constable, was allegedly attacked by a racist mob in Uttarakhand's state capital Dehradun on December 9. The attackers reportedly hurled racial slurs at him during the assault.

After battling for his life for 18 days in hospital, he died on December 26. Holding banners reading "Justice for Angel Chakma", the torch rally began from the state Congress Bhavan and passed through several parts of the capital city.

NEYCCC leaders, including Tripura State Youth Congress President Neel Kamal Saha, demanded the strictest punishment for those responsible for Chakma's killing. Earlier on Saturday, a NEYCCC delegation comprising Youth Congress leaders from various Northeastern states visited Chakma's residence in Unakoti district and met his family members.

Saha said that, following instructions of the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, the NEYCCC delegation visited the bereaved family.

"We have assured the family that we will stand by them during this difficult time. During our meeting, Indian Youth Congress President Uday Bhanu Chib also spoke to Angel Chakma's parents through a video call and assured them that the organisation would remain with the family," Saha told the media. He alleged that the attackers branded Angel as "Chinese" and brutally assaulted him, even as his father, a BSF jawan, was guarding the country's borders. (IANS)

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