GUWAHATI: The North East Students Organisation (NESO), a banner organization of all the main students bodies of seven of the Northeastern states has demanded exemplary punishment to killers of Nido Taniam, a student from Arunachal Pradesh and the tormentor of a 14-year-old girl from Manipur in the national capital.
The influential students body has announced agitation to press for their demands. The NESO adviser Samujjal Bhattacharjya and chairman Samuel Jyrwa said the members of the NESO will stage protest in front of the Raj Bhawan in Assam and all the state capitals in the region on February 14 next demanding fast and exemplary punishment to the perpetrators of both the crimes committed against N-E students in New Delhi as well as immediate measures to safeguard N-E students and youth living in the national capital.
The NESO also sent memorandum to the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister in this regard and a delegation of the students body would go to New Delhi to meet the PM and the Home Minister over the issue after February 14.
The NESO leaders stated that occurrence of such incidents of racial nature against students from the region in New Delhi would lead to alienation of people of the region from the so called mainland India. They pointed out that such incidents reflected the negative attitude of a section of racist minded people in the mainland India towards the people from the N-E which is very much a part of India.
Meanwhile, Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) taking note of the postmortem report into the murder of Taniam, in a racist attack, called for the trial of the accused in a fast track court within a specific time frame.
“The post mortem report stated that Taniam died of injuries inflicted into the head and face by a blunt object,” the ACHR claimed in a statement issued on Monday.
“The trial in a fast track court of the accused is indispensable to send a clear message to bring an end to the acts of racial discrimination and violence against the people of the North East India. Any delay in delivering justice in Nido Taniam’s murder will undermine the efforts to combat the acts of racial discrimination and violence against the people of North East India,” stated Suhas Chakma, Director of Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR).
The ACHR further called for day-to-day monitoring of cases relating to acts of racial discrimination and violence against the people of North East India and taking stringent actions against police personnel for any dereliction of duty while dealing with such cases.
“There is a need to investigate as to why the Delhi Police personnel who first intervened following assault on Nido Taniam did not take him to the hospital for medical examination and registration of the case against the attackers. This could have saved him and appropriate action is needed to be taken against these Delhi Police personnel,” Chakma said.
The ACHR also warned against increasing “regionalisation” of Delhi including by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and stated that Delhi as the national capital belonged to all the Indians and political parties must not promote “regionalisation”.
ACHR also demanded that the composition of the Delhi Police be expanded to include representation of the people from the North East India as a means to combat acts of racial discrimination and violence against the people of North East India whose physical features are different from the people of rest of India.
