Four cases of assault on African nationals reported in Delhi

IN TWO CASES OUT OF THE FOUR, THE COMPLAINANTS ARE WOMEN—ONE FROM UGANDA AND ANOTHER FROM SOUTH AFRICA

NEW DELHI: Amid outrage by African envoys following killing of a Congolese youth in the national capital, four cases of alleged criminal assault on African nationals in south Delhi have come to the fore.

All four incidents took place between 9.30pm and 11.30 pm on Thursday in Mehrauli. All four complainants, in their 30s, have been residing in Delhi for past few years, police said.

In two cases, the complainants are women— one a Uganda national and the other a native of South Africa, in the other two, the complainants are two Nigerian men.

The two cases in which the Nigerian men are involved is believed to have taken place following an argument with the locals, a senior police official said.

However, circumstances in the other two cases are not clear, he said.

The accused in all four cases are yet to be identified, the official said.

Police claimed that these are four separate incidents which have nothing to do with the violence against Indians in Congo, following the youth’s murder in Vasant Kunj area here.

Envoys of African countries on Thursday had expressed shock over killing of Congolese national Masonda Ketada Oliver last week, following which India assured them of safety of African nationals.

Police also claimed that the attacks, the causes behind which are yet to be verified, did not take place on racial lines.

“Cases of causing hurt and wrongful restraint have been registered in all four cases. Efforts are on to nab the accused,” Additional DCP (south) Nupur Prasad said.

Last week, 23-year-old Oliver was allegedly beaten to death by three men following an argument over hiring an autorickshaw in south Delhi’s Vasant Kunj area.

While two of the accused have been arrested in connection with the case, the third is still absconding.

On Friday, Union minister for tourism and culture, Mahesh Sharma told a news agency, “India is a large country and such incidents will give a bad name to India. It is an unfortunate incident. However, even Africa is not safe.”