She left her home at the age of 14 after a family dispute and ended up living on the street, picking rags to survive before being sold into marriage with a man from Rajasthan.

The killing of Anjel Chakma, the student from Tripura in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun, was probably not a racial attack, the police say, but they also point out that they are exploring all angles including racism.

The Enforcement Directorate alleged that a “criminal” syndicate, involving senior bureaucrats and political figures of the state, “completely hijacked” the Chhattisgarh excise department between 2019 and 2023.