Indian students attacked in Milan, Sushma says she’s monitoring situation

NEW DELHI: Amid reports of an attack on Tuesday on three Indian students in Milan, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said she was “monitoring the situation”.

Reports said three Indians studying in Milan alleged they were attacked with beer bottles and “abused by attackers for their skin colour”.

A police case has been registered over the attack, which took place on October 17. More details on the attack weren’t immediately available.

On Monday, the Indian Consulate in Milan said it had “received reports of unfortunate incident of attacks on the Indian students in Milan.”

According to reports, the attacks took place on October 17 and October 30.

The consulate said it was taking up the matter with the highest level of law and order authorities in Milan. The advisory did not mention if the attacks were racially motivated.

Swaraj’s reaction came a day after Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni visited India and stressed the need for a closer cooperation with the country.

There is a 180,000-strong Indian community in Italy, the third largest in the European Union after Britain and the Netherlands.

Italian Prime Minister Gentiloni was in India on October 29-30 to help thaw bilateral ties.