Scholar murder: Probe may be taken to TISS

“The knife that was found near the body has been sent to FSL for fingerprinting. We have spoken to some of his friends and are going through his call data records and laptop to get more leads. We might approach TISS to speak to his teachers and classmates to get clues about his activities,” an officer said.

Condemning the murder, students belonging to North East Forum for International Solidarity (NEFIS) staged a protest at Jantar Mantar against racism and demanded justice and security. The forum also submitted a memorandum to the Home Ministry on the matter.

“On Wednesday, Kengoo was found murdered at his residence. The next day, another Northeast student, 22-year-old Samuel Haokim, was attacked in Bangalore for not knowing the local language, Kannada. The same day, a Manipuri student was found dead in Malviya Nagar. These cases are not isolated ones but part of a string of similar attacks and racial profiling of people from the Northeast. They are snapshots of a problem which is increasingly becoming a serious concern,” NEFIS representative Chinglen Khumukcham said.

Khumukcham also complained of delayed and poor police action in such cases.

“Such incidents are reflective of a dangerous trend of racism and growing vigilantism in the city targeting vulnerable minority groups. Our delegates went to the Ministry of Home Affairs and submitted a memorandum demanding that these racist attacks be thoroughly and swiftly investigated. The culprits should be apprehended and immediate justice should be given to the victims,” Khumukcham said.

“The state should take firm measures to ensure that these incidents are not repeated. Furthermore, we demand that all the victims of racist violence or their nearest kin be compensated at the earliest,” he said.