Members of students' organisations and locals participate in a candlelight march at Gandhi Park protesting the assault and death of Tripura student Angel Chakma.
Credit: PTI
Agartala: The family of Anjel Chakma (24), who was killed by miscreants in Dehradun, wants capital punishment or at least life imprisonment for all the accused involved in the incident.
Anjel from Unakoti district's Machmara went to Dehradun after completing his graduation in Holy Cross School, Agartala, to pursue MBA, where he was stabbed to death in the presence of his younger brother Michael.
"We will never get back Anjel, but his family wants capital punishment or at least life term imprisonment for those involved in the gruesome murder. Anjel had repeatedly said that he was an Indian, but the miscreants mindlessly stabbed him twice in the back and broke his neck, leading to his death after 17 days of battle for life," said Anjel's maternal uncle, Momen Chakma.
He urged the government to take steps so that people from the Northeast don't face racial hate crimes.
Momen said, "The people of Machmara, irrespective of caste and religion, will hold a candle march in memory of Anjel on Tuesday, seeking justice for his family."
"Anjel was about to join a company after his final semester examination as he had received a placement offer because of his first year's result with 80 per cent marks, Momen told PTI over phone.
He (Anjel) had told his father, Tarun Prasad Chakma, a BSF jawan posted in Manipur, to take voluntary retirement once he gets a job, Momen said.
"The family's dream of having a decent life has been completely shattered by the unfortunate incident on December 26," Momen, who rushed to Dehradun soon after the incident, said.
"Anjel's family is completely devastated by the incident. Both father and younger son are undergoing 'Sarema' (a mandatory post-death ritual in Buddhist religion) at a local Buddhist temple for a week. His mother, Gouri Mati Chakma, is also completely shattered," he said.
Momen said Ajnel's family is heading towards uncertainty because his father had bought a new home at Nandannagar on the outskirts of Agartala with a huge loan.
"Besides, Anjel had taken an educational loan to pursue an MBA from Dehradun. We all know pursuing such a course in Dehradun is expensive. Now everything is lost," he said.
On Anjel's last wish, Momen said he wanted to travel to Nepal to witness snowfall there, but could not.
"He had ordered special shoes as part of his preparation to visit Nepal. We received the order, but Anjel could not see the shoes because by then he was in the ICU. I will go to Nepal with these shoes to fulfil his unfinished and last wish," Momen, a state government engineer, said.