Outrage across the Northeast has intensified after a video allegedly showed a Tripura youth being mocked over his appearance and identity, prompting Chief Minister Manik Saha to direct police coordination with Delhi.
BY PC Bureau
New Delhi, October 22: Delhi-based content creator Amir Shokeen could face arrest following widespread outrage over a viral video allegedly showing him directing racial slurs and humiliating gestures at a young man from Tripura, with Union Minister Kiren Rijiju promising strict action and police in Delhi and Tripura under pressure to act on complaints.
“This evil man will be punished,” Rijiju said in a post on X, adding that Delhi Police and Tripura Police would teach the accused a “hard lesson”. He also criticised those who tolerated such behaviour, warning that silence in the face of racial abuse contributed to the spread of hatred.
Although Shokeen has issued a public apology, claiming the interaction was scripted and intended as humour, the backlash has continued, with political leaders and student organisations demanding a police investigation and accountability. Whether he will be arrested will depend on the evidence, the applicable legal provisions and the course of the investigation.
The controversy erupted after a video, reportedly recorded in Delhi and uploaded around September 19, circulated widely on social media on October 21. The young man, reportedly from Tripura’s Gomati district, is seen interacting with Shokeen, who allegedly mocks his appearance and identity after learning that he is from the northeastern state.
In the footage, Shokeen allegedly uses racial slurs such as “Chinese” and “Chinky”, compares the youth’s appearance to Michael Jackson and the Chinese president, and makes an allegedly obscene distortion of Tripura’s historical name. The video also shows physical contact and gestures that critics have described as humiliating.
The footage has triggered anger across the Northeast, where racial stereotyping and discrimination against people from the region have long been a source of concern.
RACISM IS NEVER CONTENT !
Advisory: Racial slurs, profanity, and alleged sexual misconduct. Viewer discretion advised.
Delhi: A video of content creator Amir Shokeen has gone viral in India
He is seen directing racial insults at a young man from Tripura, including calling him “Chinese.”
The video also shows offensive language and alleged inappropriate touching of private parts.
Outrage has followed.
Amir Shokeen apologized after the clip spread widely.
— Subodh Kumar (@kumarsubodh_) October 22, 2026
Complaints lodged, police action sought
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha has directed the state’s Director General of Police to coordinate with Delhi Police and ensure that the matter is investigated.
The Youth Tipra Federation (YTF) and the TIPRA Indigenous Students’ Federation (TISF) have filed separate complaints against Shokeen at the New Capital Complex police station in Agartala, alleging racial harassment, cyberbullying, hate speech and derogatory remarks targeting indigenous communities.
The Tripura Students Forum in Delhi has also approached Delhi Police, seeking an FIR and a thorough investigation.
Rajya Sabha MP James K. Sangma has written to Delhi Police demanding immediate registration of an FIR, preservation of digital evidence and a full investigation. He has also urged the Special Police Unit for North Eastern Region (SPUNER) to safeguard the young man’s privacy, dignity and security.
The Tripura Students’ Forum Delhi has filed a complaint with Delhi Police seeking an FIR and an urgent probe into alleged sexual assault, racial harassment and humiliation of a young tribal man from Tripura, captured in a viral video. https://t.co/NuNLWvvIq4
— IANS (@ians_india) October 22, 2026
“This is neither humour nor content creation. It is racial abuse, and it demeans every citizen of the Northeast,” Sangma said in a statement shared on X.
The complaints and growing political pressure have intensified calls for police to establish the circumstances surrounding the video and determine whether the alleged conduct warrants criminal prosecution. However, no arrest should be presumed until the police confirm such action.
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Pradyot Debbarma rejects apology as sufficient
Tipra Motha Party founder Pradyot Kishore Debbarma condemned the alleged remarks as an insult to Tripura and the Tiprasa community. He argued that describing the exchange as a joke designed to attract online attention did not erase the harm caused by racial slurs and mockery of the state’s identity.
Debbarma called for strict action and urged the party’s youth and student organisations to pursue complaints against the accused.
CPI(M) state secretary and Leader of the Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury demanded exemplary action, while Congress leaders, including MLA Sudip Roy Barman, also condemned the alleged conduct. The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) described the episode as an affront to the dignity of people across the Northeast.
Tripura BJP leaders have separately alleged that Shokeen has links to the Congress, adding a political dimension to the controversy.
Shokeen says video was scripted
Under mounting criticism, Shokeen issued video apologies on Facebook and other platforms. He claimed that the interaction was scripted and intended as humour, adding that the young man was known to him and had previously worked at a friend’s café in Ahmedabad.
“I had no intention of saying anything bad about anyone. If anyone felt bad, I apologise from the bottom of my heart. I respect everyone,” he said.
Addressing people from Tripura, he added: “My brothers from Tripura, I apologise to all of you with folded hands. Brotherhood is top priority. I am sorry.”
He also referred to his responsibility towards his young children and expressed his willingness to apologise further.
His explanation has done little to quell the anger. Critics maintain that racial stereotyping cannot be excused as entertainment, even if an interaction is presented as scripted.
A test of the response to racial abuse
The controversy has renewed scrutiny of the discrimination faced by people from the Northeast in metropolitan cities, where comments about their facial features, names and ethnic identities are frequently cited as examples of racial prejudice.
Sangma also recalled the death of Anjel Chakma, a student from Tripura who died in Dehradun last December, while warning against the dangers of hostility towards people from the region.
With complaints lodged and Rijiju publicly promising action, attention is now on whether Delhi Police will register an FIR, summon or detain Shokeen, or take other steps under applicable law. The next course of action will depend on the evidence and the findings of the investigation.
For people across the Northeast, the case has become more than a controversy over a viral video. It has become a test of whether alleged racial abuse will be investigated seriously and whether public apologies will be accompanied by appropriate legal accountability.
