Tripura student killing: People in other parts of country should be educated about Northeast, says Assam CM Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday (January 1, 2026) said that people in the rest of the country should be educated about North East India to avoid incidents like the murder of Tripura student Angel Chakma in Dehradun.

Interacting with media persons in Guwahati, CM Sarma said that to prevent such incidents from taking place, the culprits concerned should be arrested and punished with heavy penalties.

“If the defendants are given harsh punishment, it would be a strong signal to the entire nation and we hope that such incidents will not be repeated again,” he said.

He said the people of North East India “are proud Indians and people in the rest of the country need to be educated about the region and its people.”

He said there needed to be more communication between people in the region and the rest of India.

Mr Sarma said the young student’s death was “truly sad and unfortunate”.

“We condemn the incident and offer our condolences to the bereaved family,” Mr. Sarma added.

The CM said such an incident had not happened in the last five years and “we hope it does not happen again”.

Asked whether the state government has data on the number of students studying outside, CM Sarma said that no such data is available at present, but it can be collected and maintained if necessary.

Chakma, a 24-year-old student from Tripura, was pursuing an MBA in Dehradun, where he was attacked by a group of drunk people who hurled racial abuse at him.

Chakma succumbed to his injuries after 16 days, leading to widespread protests by students in the North Eastern States and Delhi.