Influencer Amir Shokeen arrested in Delhi over viral video allegedly showing racial abuse of a Tripura youth

Delhi Police on Thursday, October 22, arrested Delhi-based content creator Amir Shokeen over a viral video that allegedly shows him racially abusing and humiliating a youth from Tripura. A team from Sadar Bazar police station arrested him at a relative’s house in Karol Bagh, where police say he was hiding.

The video surfaced online on Tuesday evening. In it, Shokeen allegedly taunts the young man over his ethnicity, asks him if he is the “president” of a neighbouring country, mocks Tripura when the youth says he is Indian, and calls him “Chinese”, The Times of India reported. Police sources told PTI the clip was allegedly recorded in Ahmedabad about a month ago. The Indian Idiot is not identifying the young man.

Delhi Police registered an FIR at Sadar Bazar police station under Sections 192, 196, 352 and 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Agartala Police registered a separate case on Wednesday, and the Delhi Police’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit joined the investigation at the request of its Special Police Unit for North Eastern Region. In a complaint dated October 21, the Tripura Students Forum Delhi alleged that the footage showed the young man being subjected to sexual assault, harassment and humiliating treatment, along with racially derogatory remarks and a demeaning reference to Tripura.

According to police, Shokeen had been absconding and changing locations. He was traced to Shahdara earlier in the day before officers tracked him to Karol Bagh using technical surveillance. “The content creator, identified as Amir Shokeen, is a bad character of Sadar Bazar area and has previously been involved in multiple cases of brawling,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Niharika Bhatt told PTI. He has earlier faced cases under Sections 323, 324, 504 and 506 of the old Indian Penal Code, The Times of India reported.

Before his arrest, Shokeen posted an apology video on Facebook. He claimed the clip was scripted and meant as a joke, and that the youth was someone he knew who had worked at a friend’s cafe in Ahmedabad. “I had no intention of saying anything bad about anyone. If anyone felt bad, I apologise from the bottom of my heart. I respect everyone,” he said, according to India Today. “My brothers from Tripura, I apologise to all of you with folded hands.”

The video drew condemnation from across party lines. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju wrote on X: “This evil man will be punished. There was delay in lodging the official complaint but Delhi Police and Tripura Police will teach him a hard lesson.” Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha directed the state’s police chief to coordinate with Delhi Police.

Police sources told PTI that a Tripura Police team was expected in Delhi late on Thursday to take custody of Shokeen and seek transit remand from a Delhi court. They said seven to eight people are accused in the case and their roles are being examined. None of the allegations has been tested in court.