Indian FM assures thorough probe into mob attack on Nigerian students near Delhi

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday assured a thorough probe into a mob attack on some Nigerian students in the northern city of Greater Noida on the outskirts of Delhi on Monday even as police arrested seven people in connection with the incident.

Swaraj said she had spoken to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath about the incident in Greater Noida and sought a report from the state government. "He has assured that there will be a fair and impartial investigation into this unfortunate incident," the minister tweeted.

The external affairs minister's response came after a Nigerian student in Greater Noida took to Twitter and pleaded with her for swift action, saying that living in the area has become "a life threatening issue".

The attack on the Nigerian students took place on Monday evening and it coincided with a protest that was organised by online groups who blamed the unexplained death of a teenage student on the African community.

The protesters alleged that the student, identified as Manish Khari, was supplied drugs by Africans who live in the area. However, doctors have not yet confirmed if the death was due to overdose of drugs.

Local TV channels beamed footage of a video apparently shot on a mobile phone that showed a large group of people, mostly local residents, thrashing one of the African students and hitting him with steel dustbins at a shopping mall.

"We have arrested seven people so far and identified 300 other local residents who were involved in the incident from closed-circuit TV cameras installed in the area. All the perpetrators will soon be arrested and booked for attempt to murder," a senior police official said.

Attacks on Africans in and around Delhi is not uncommon. Last year, some Nigerians were beaten up in Delhi's Chhatarpur area. Endit