Death of Arunachal boy sparks protests, JCP from North-east comes to police’s rescue

After around 1000 students from the north-east jammed the gate of Lajpat Nagar police station on Saturday, it was Joint Commissioner (Training) Robin Hibu belonging to the north-east who had to come to pacify them.

The protest was launched in wake of the death of Nido Tania, a 19-year old student from Arunachal Pradesh after he was allegedly beaten up by a shopkeeper in A block of the area. Demanding formation of a special investigation team to conduct the probe, students continued their protest for nearly six hours.

 The students agreed to retreat only after they were assured of a speedy investigation by Hibu, who is also the coordinator of North-East Residents’ Cell.  “I come here not as a representative of the police but as one of you. The police have registered a case under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the SC/ST Atrocities Act has also been added. We are awaiting the viscera report and it will be available within a week”, said Hibu while addressing the protestors.

Shouting slogans like “Racism, down down”, the members of Arunachal Students’ Union Delhi (ASUD), North-East Students’ Union (NESU), Naga Students Union (NSU), JNU Student’ Union (JNUSU), etc were demanding that the police commissioner come out and speak to them.

 “We are being mocked at in our own country. This is not the first case of discrimination against our brothers from the north-east. It has become a part of our lives and we are here to demand an end to this step-motherly treatment”, said L Gangte, a student of B.Tech first year in Delhi University.

 A few students also threw bottles and cash notes at the police officials after they noticed a few of them sharing a laugh. The crowd grew violent and thrashed the gate shouting “Delhi Police doob maro”. It was only after one of the senior officials reprimanded his subordinates that the crowd relented.

Leaders of the student organizations also met Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the evening. “One of our representative along with other student leaders met the Delhi CM and demanded his attention towards the issue. He has assured his support and promised he will take all necessary steps for the protection of our north-east brothers staying in Delhi”, said Taba Doni, General Secretary, ASUD.