Rahul Gandhi with student protesters at Jantar Mantar
Delhi Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal will sit on a 'dharna' with students from the North-East protesting against the death
Nido Taniam, a 20-year-old from Arunachal Pradesh, who died after he was beaten up by a group of men last week in a market.
Mr Kejriwal is likely to join the protests on Tuesday, a day after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi met the student protestors in the heart of Delhi where he promised that justice will be delivered for Nido. (
Nido Taniam's death: Rahul Gandhi asks Home Minister Shinde to act)
"What happened to Nido is totally unacceptable," said Mr Gandhi. "There is only one India. And that India belongs to all of us. We are going to ensure you get respect in this country. Full stop."
Mr Gandhi, 43, is leading the Congress party's campaign for the national election. Today's appearance and firm talk is in sharp contrast to a year ago when he refused to engage with students who were marching every day in the heart of the capital to express their anger and grief over the fatal gang-rape of a young woman on a Delhi bus.
A sea of candles was placed in front of the stage where Mr Gandhi sat with young activists from North-Eastern states who are demanding a fast-track investigation into Nido's death and action against the police for not doing enough to help him. Many of them say they are exposed to racial slurs and discrimination every day. In protests over the weekend, some carried placards that asked, "Why are we treated like outsiders?"
Nido was studying in Jalandhar and was vacationing in Delhi when he was beaten up with rods and sticks, allegedly by a group of shopkeepers who ridiculed his appearance and his dyed hair. The police say it negotiated a settlement and that Nido then went to his sister's home where he was found dead in his bed the next day.
According to the Delhi Police, six people have been booked for assaulting Nido. Three of them have been arrested and two of the other three are juveniles.
Mr Kejriwal
has said that a magistrate will investigate the death. The Delhi High Court said that by Wednesday, it must get thorough reports on the case from the police and the state and union governments.