Africans living in northern India are locking
themselves indoors in terror after a spate of mob attacks left several
hospitalized.
Multiple attacks on Kenyan and
Nigerian students have been reported this week in Greater Noida, 18 miles
southeast of the capital New Delhi.
Nine Nigerians were attacked,
including five who were wounded and two who were hospitalized with undisclosed
injuries, said Abike Dabiri, Nigeria's special assistant on foreign affairs and
diaspora.
Additionally, a Kenyan woman in
her twenties was admitted to hospital Wednesday after she was attacked while
getting out of a cab, according to Dharmendra Singh, a senior police
superintendent in Noida.
The woman was released from
hospital the same day.
Mob attacks
Police said the violence began
over the weekend, following the death of a teenager in an alleged drug
overdose.
His family filed a police
report against five local Nigerian men, who have since been detained on
suspicion of drug peddling, abduction and murder, police said.
A postmortem, however, did not
confirm the theory of a drug overdose and the men were later released.
Following their arrest, African
students gathered to peacefully demonstrate for their release, said Ezeugo Nnamdi
Lawrence, university coordinator with the Association of African Students in
India (AASI).
On Monday, a counter-protest by
Indians turned violent. Police officer Amir Dikshit said about 500 to 600
people attacked two students in a shopping mall in Noida.
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