N-E students seek justice for Taniam

Hundreds of youngsters from the North-East staged a protest in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar on Saturday raising slogans against discrimination and demanding justice to Nido Taniam. 

Taniam, a BSc student at Lovely Professional University in Jalandhar, succumbed to injuries after being assaulted by some shopkeepers of Lajpat Nagar market. 

Taniam was the son of Nido Pavitra, a Congress MLA and parliamentary secretary in the health and family welfare department of Arunachal Pradesh (AP). The protest was called off in the evening after the Delhi Police promised swift action.

“The local police left Taniam at the spot and he was beaten up again. They must be punished for this misconduct. They are responsible for Taniam’s death,” said Tawai, a student. It is a shocking incident, but not the first case of discrimination against students from the North-East, a student present at the protest venue said.

Asou Rosi, another protester, said: “Is there a good leader to stop this thing from happening again? Is there a good officer to stop this thing from happening again? Or are our leaders and police officers busy in politics and blowing their own trumpets?” 

Parshi Lakshya, a Delhi University student, reckons the capital is safe from terrorists, but not free and safe for locals. “Innocents are easily assaulted and murdered,” she added.

Student communities from the north-east, along with officers from AP, held meetings with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi Police and BJP leader Harsh Vardhan, demanding “immediate and appropriate action against the assailants.”

K N Damo, deputy resident commissioner of AP, and G D Baruah, additional personal secretary to AP chief minister, were also present.

They also want a special team of investigators who will apprise the North-East representatives with the progress made in the case. Another demand is the suspension of the police officers, who allegedly brought Taniam to the spot in Lajpat Nagar, where he was beaten by shopkeepers.

“We want to know why the police did not conduct Taniam’s medical examination after he was beaten up. We are also awaiting the post-mortem report to know the details of his death,” said Baruah.

Meanwhile, a woman, who did not wish to be named, said the shop where the scuffle took place belonged to her. She identified the shopkeeper as Farhan, who had rented the shop about one and a half years ago. 

She said Farhan is from Aligarh and stayed with his brother near south-east Delhi’s Ashram area. He ran the shop with his brother and a servant.

“I spoke to Farhan and he told me that he had commented on the boy’s haircut and the boy had damaged the shop. Farhan also said that he had beaten the boy and his friend. But he denied having beaten him the second time. He also said that he did not use iron rods and sticks,” she said.