Outcry in Delhi over student's death after beating

NEW DELHI: The beating and subsequent death in New Delhi of a university student from India´s remote northeast has sparked a furious outcry against racism and criticism of police in the Indian capital.

Several hundred people protested outside a Delhi police station Saturday, shouting demands for justice against what they called a hate crime. The capital´s newly elected chief minister asked that a magistrate investigate the incident as well as the police response.

Police detained two shopkeepers and launched a murder investigation Friday night, after being criticized for doing little following Wednesday´s altercation.

"We are questioning several people in the case," said Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat.

Officials said 20-year-old Nido Tania had been on vacation from his studies in Jalandhar, Punjab, when he was beaten by New Delhi shopkeepers who had ridiculed his appearance. Many indigenous people from India´s northeast, some ethnically closer to people in Myanmar and China, often say they encounter racism and discrimination in the rest of India.

Tania died in his bed on Thursday morning. An autopsy was being conducted to determine a cause of death.

Tania was the son of a member of the Arunachal Pradesh state assembly from the nationally ruling Congress Party. The Home Ministry also asked police for a detailed report.