Attack on Tania most condemnable, will punish guilty: PM

Terming the attack on the 19-year-old student from Arunachal Pradesh "most condemnable", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday said "every possible effort" would be made to punish the guilty.

"The attack on Nido Tania, the student from Arunachal Pradesh, is most condemnable. While the actual cause of Nido Tania's death will be known only after the autopsy report is received, the violence which preceded his demise is tragic and shameful," the prime minister said in a statement.

"Our government will make every possible effort to punish the guilty and to provide effective protection to students and citizens from other parts of the country especially the northeast, who visit or reside in Delhi."

Manmohan Singh stressed that every Indian should ensure that fellow citizens from the northeast feel safe and "every part of the country welcomes them, especially New Delhi, which is the national capital" and a "diverse and vibrant city, enriched by people from all over the country who have made it their home."

"People from other parts of the country like the northeast are as much a part of the city as anyone else. All citizens need to work together to ensure that our brothers and sisters from northeast feel safe and secure in Delhi," he said.

"What is at stake is human values, amity in society, and the unity and integrity of the country," he added.

The prime minister also met a delegation from the northeast led by Minister of State for Minority Affairs Ninong Ering.

"It is very sad. I associate with your pain," the PM told the delegation.

Tania, died last week after he was beaten up by shopkeepers in a south Delhi market. The victim's friends say it was a racial attack.