New Delhi:
Nearly 2000 protesters, who gathered at Lajpat Nagar market in South Delhi today to demand justice for Nido Taniam, called off their protest Saturday after the Delhi Police assured them of speedy investigations. 20-year-old Nodi, a student from Arunachal Pradesh, was found dead in his bedroom hours after he was allegedly beaten up by a group of 5-6 men.
"The Delhi Police have accepted our demands and assured that investigation will be speeded up so we have called off our protest. We are also meeting Arvind Kejriwal to discuss the matter," said J T Tagam, former president of Arunachal Pradesh students union.
A delegation of students union also met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
"We cannot target people like this, Delhi is the capital of our country. To give safe environment is our responsibility. This country is for everyone," said Mr Kejriwal after meeting the students.
Among the protesters were members from the North East students' union, All India Students' Association and Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union.
One of the protesters said they "want Delhi chief minister (Arvind Kejriwal) to deliver justice to us".
A group of people from the northeastern states also met Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Harsh Vardhan.
"I hope prime minister (Manmohan Singh), Home Minister (Sushil Kumar Shinde) and chief minister (Kejriwal) will rise to the occasion," the BJP leader said.
Nido, whose father is a Congress law-maker in the Arunachal Pradesh legislature, was studying in Jalandhar and had travelled to Delhi for a holiday. His friends say that on Wednesday, while at the market, he stopped at a confectionery shop for directions. They allege that the men gathered there made fun of his hair and Nido asked them to apologise.
A fight then erupted and Nido allegedly broke a glass at the shop. Then, a group of five men attacked him with sticks and iron rods, according to his friends.
Nido's family claims that the police arrived and negotiated a compromise which included making the student pay the shopkeeper for the broken window.
Nido Taniam returned then to the house of a relative where he had been staying in Delhi. The next morning, his family says, they found him dead.