North East integral to India: Nagaland minister on racial killing in Uttarakhand

Nagaland Minister Temjen Imna Along on Monday strongly condemned the alleged racial attack on a student from Tripura in Dehradun asserting that the NorthEastern states are an inseparable and integral part of India reported the IANSReacting to the incident the minister said such attacks reflect ignorance and prejudice towards people from the NorthEastThe victim Angel Chakma 24 a resident of Unakoti district in Tripura was allegedly attacked on December 9 following an argument at Selakui market in DehradunAngel along with his younger brother Michael Chakma reportedly had a dispute with Suraj Khawas 22 a resident of Manipur living in Dehradun and five of his associates as per the IANSAccording to the police Angel was attacked with knives and brass knuckles and was rushed to hospital with serious injuries He later succumbed to his injuries on December 26Allegations of racial slursAngelrsquos father Tarun Chakma who is currently posted in Manipur with the Border Security Force BSF alleged that his son was subjected to racial abuse during the assaultHe claimed the attackers called Angel ldquoChineserdquo and used other racial slurs before attacking himlsquoWe are Indiansrsquo says ministerCondemning the incident Temjen Imna Along told reporters in Itanagar that people must think before making derogatory remarksldquoI cannot condemn an entire community but those who committed this act are ignorant and do not understand the people of the NorthEast We do not consider ourselves Chinese and we are not lsquomomorsquo Momo is a dish and it is very good but this attitude towards us is wrongrdquo he said according to the IANSHe stressed that people from Nagaland Arunachal Pradesh Manipur Tripura and other NorthEastern states are Indians even though their cultures and appearances may differPolice action and investigationPolice said that five of the six accused including two juveniles have been arrested A reward of Rs 25000 has been announced for the arrest of the remaining accused Yagyaraj Awasthi a resident of Nepalrsquos Kanchanpur district who is currently absconding reported the IANSA police team has been sent to Nepal to trace and arrest himBased on a complaint filed by Michael Chakma on December 12 police initially registered a case under sections 1152 118 and 3513 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita BNS for causing bodily harm and criminal intimidationFollowing Angelrsquos medical report Section 109 attempt to murder was added After Angelrsquos death police further invoked Section 1031 murder and Section 35 joint liability of the BNSApart from Suraj Khawas the arrested accused have been identified as Avinash Negi 25 and Sumit 25 the news agency reportedVictim was finalyear studentAngel Chakma was a finalyear MBA student at a university in Dehradun His death has triggered widespread condemnation and renewed concerns over racial discrimination and safety of students from the NorthEast in other parts of the countrywith IANS inputs