Killing of Tripura student in Dehradun a horrific 'hate crime': Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi (PTI): Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday called the killing of a Tripura student in Uttarakhand's Dehradun a "horrific hate crime", as he accused the ruling BJP of "normalising" hate.
Twenty-four-year-old Angel Chakma from Nandannagar in the West Tripura district was attacked by a group of six people when he objected to an alleged racial slur on December 9 in Dehradun. He succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment on December 26.
In a post on X, Gandhi said hate does not appear overnight.
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"What happened to Anjel Chakma and his brother Michael in Dehradun is a horrific hate crime," he said.
"Hate doesn't appear overnight. For years now, it is being fed daily -- especially to our youth -- through toxic content and irresponsible narratives. And it's being normalised by the hate-spewing leadership of the ruling BJP," he said.
The Leader of Opposition said India is built on respect and unity, not fear and abuse.
"We are a country of love and diversity. We must not become a dead society that looks away while fellow Indians are targeted. We must reflect and confront what we are allowing our country to become," he said.
"My thoughts are with the Chakma family and the people of Tripura and Northeast. We are proud to call you our fellow Indian brothers and sisters," Gandhi added.
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Sunday said his Uttarakhand counterpart Pushkar Singh Dhami has assured him that all persons responsible for the murder will be arrested.
Thousands of students under the banner of Tipra Indigenous Students' Federation on Sunday organised a candle march here seeking justice for Angel Chakma. The students covered a distance of around one kilometre from the North Gate of Ujjayanta Palace.
What happened to Anjel Chakma and his brother Michael in Dehradun is a horrific hate crime.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 29, 2025
Hate doesn’t appear overnight. For years now it is being fed daily - especially to our youth - through toxic content and irresponsible narratives. And it’s being normalised by the… pic.twitter.com/eDN7XiIGZ2
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
