People in other parts of country should be educated about NE: Himanta

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

The culprits involved should be booked and meted out severe punishments as a deterrent for the occurrence of such incidents, Sarma said while interacting with media persons here.

"If the accused are given harsh punishment, it will send a strong signal to the entire nation, and such incidents will hopefully not recur," he said.

The people of North East India "are proud Indians and the people in the rest of the country should be educated about the region and its people", he said.

There should be more communication between the people from the region and the rest of India, he said.

The death of the young student is "really sad and unfortunate", Sarma said.

"We condemn the incident and offered our condolences to the bereaved family", Sarma added.

There was no such incident during the last five years, and "we hope that it does not happen again", the CM said.

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

Chakma, a 24-year-old student hailing from Tripura, was doing his MBA in Dehradun where he was attacked by a group of intoxicated people who hurled racial abuses at him.

Chakma succumbed to his injuries 16 days later which led to widespread protests by students in the North Eastern states as well as in Delhi. PTI DG RG