TRIGGER WARNING
The Association Of African Students in India has advised members staying in the Greater Noida area to not step out of their homes until security measures are beefed up in the area. The advisory comes in the wake of many students sharing videos of assaults against them at Greater Noida’s Ansal Plaza.
“All African students studying in Greater Noida are hereby instructed to stay home until proper security is provided to secure our lives. Also, you are advised not to attend any lecture until we are granted maximum security,” the association posted on Facebook.
On Monday, four Nigerian students were injured as a peaceful protest march suddenly turned violent and triggered a vicious racial attack on the students.
The incident occurred at around 6 pm, when a group of more than a hundred locals gathered at the busy Pari Chowk junction to protest against the death of Manish Khari, a Class XII student who died of an alleged drug overdose on Saturday.
The crowd turned violent when they spotted a few Nigerians near the site of the protest and attacked them.
Five Nigerian students were detained by the police, but they were later released for lack of evidence. When Manish Khari, went missing on Friday evening, a rumour spread that the teenager had last been seen with a group of Nigerians. A crowd then raided the home of these African students and accused them of having eaten up the boy.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has asked the UP government to submit a report on the attacks.“Chief Minister Adityanath has assured me that there will be a fair and impartial investigation into this unfortunate incident,” the minister said on Twitter.
The police have registered a case of attempt to murder in connection with Monday’s violence and have arrested five people, Scroll.in reported. “We have identified many accused through video footage recorded by officers present at the venue,” said Superintendent of Police (Greater Noida-Rural) Sujata Singh. “More arrests are likely.”