‘China’s president, ch**tpura’: Social media influencer Amir Shokeen harasses tribal youth from Tripura with racist, derogatory remarks; Kiren Rijiju warns of a “hard lesson”

Tribal youth from Tripura is subjected to racist harassment by social media influencer Amir Shokeen.
Amir has claimed that the video was scrpited.

On 21st October (Wednesday), Union Cabinet Minister Kiren Rijiju shared a disturbing video of a social media influencer identified as Amir Shokeen targeting a tribal youth from Gomti district of Tripura with extremely racist and derogatory actions in the national capital, Delhi.

The minister wrote, “This evil man will be punished. There was a delay in lodging the official complaint, but Delhi Police and Tripura Police will teach him a hard lesson. People who tolerate such wicked behaviour in society are also responsible for the spread of hatred.”

In the footage, Amir can be heard asking, “Are you China’s president, Chingping,” accompanied by amused laughter at his deeply objectionable question. The young man politely clarified that he was from Tripura, not China. However, Amir escalated his crude humour by persistently denigrating the entire state as “ch**tpura.”

He mocked the youth, calling him “gorgeous like Michael Jackson” and inviting him to “come sucking with me” while grabbing his hand, as the latter maintained an uncomfortable smile. Amir continued to make offensive sexual innuendos and even touched the guy’s private part when he attempted to disengage by focusing on his mobile phone, while his equally depraved audience cackled through the entire scene.

As the matter escalated and Amir faced severe backlash, he posted an apology video, repeatedly referring to Tripura as “Tripuram” and claiming he knew nothing about the state. He maintained that the episode was scripted, insisting, “I knew the guy. He works at my friend’s cafe in Ahmedabad. It was a fun video,” alleging that the latter had also been enjoying himself.

Amir then stated that people from Tripura believed he had disparaged them and expressed, “I apologise with folded hands. It was not my intention to utter anything wrong about anyone. If it offended anybody, I apologise, and I respect everyone from my heart. I make funny videos, but if my act hurt any of you, I apologise.” He repeatedly apologised to those offended by his antics while reiterating his argument that the video had been scripted.

As the controversy refused to die down, Amir posted another video, again mispronouncing Tripura as “Tripuram” while apologising profusely over the issue. He acknowledged that the “matter has become quite serious” and the state’s chief minister Manik Saha had also reacted to it.

Amir extended his apology to him as well. He stressed, “We are kids and make mistakes. I will also submit a written apology, but my intention was never to hurt any state or its people. I did not even know that such a state existed. I have deleted the video. I have made 2,000 videos but have never received any complaints. I have never done anything wrong to anyone. I am even ready to apologise before the entire community.”

On Wednesday, the CMO (Chief Minister’s Office) informed that “Manik Saha has directed the DGP (Director General of Police) Tripura to coordinate with Delhi Police over derogatory remarks made by a content creator against a young man from the state. The law will take its course of action.”

Political parties in Tripura had demanded legal action against Amir after a video showing him taunting and harassing the young man over his ethnicity went viral on social media. “We are trying to identify the boy who was harassed and file a complaint,” conveyed Hamalu Jamatia, general secretary of Twipra Students’ Federation, which is planning to meet the Delhi Police commissioner. Amir has over 142K followers on Instagram and 81K followers on Facebook.

Written by OpIndia Staff
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