New Delhi: Police arrested five men Tuesday after hundreds of angry residents of a northern city attacked Africans with sticks and metal chairs following the death of a local teenager from a suspected drug overdose.
Around a dozen people were wounded in the violence late Monday in Greater Noida, a satellite city of New Delhi where hundreds of African students are based.
“Rumours were being spread that Africans are behind the youth’s death and racist comments were made on social media. It looks racially motivated,” senior police officer Sujata Singh said.
“Five attackers have been arrested and four others are on the run,” she said, adding that 300 people were involved in the rioting.
India’s foreign ministry condemned the incident as “deplorable” and said it had assured the Nigerian high commissioner (ambassador) that all steps were being taken to protect the country’s nationals.
Many Nigerians were targeted in the violence, which was apparently triggered by the release without charge of five Nigerian students detained over the teenager’s death.
“The government is committed to ensuring safety and security of all foreigners in India. People from Africa, including students and youth, remain our valued partners,” said a ministry statement. Singh said around 500 people had assembled for a candle-lit vigil in Noida to demand justice for the teenager, and became violent after spotting a group of Nigerians.
One television station showed an angry mob hitting a car with sticks, while another showed dozens of attackers hitting shoppers in a mall with metal chairs.
Endurance Amalawa, one of the attacked students, said he was outside the mall with his brother when they saw an angry mob running towards them. “We kept crying for help, but no one came, not even the security marshals. I was running but they followed me and attacked me,” he said on NDTV television. — AFP
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