African students attacked: MEA refuses to call incident 'racial' without probe

India refused to categorise the attacks of African nationals in Greater Noida as racial and said pending the probe it is not correct to draw a conclusion on "the nature and the reason" of these acts. On the alleged attack on a Kenyan woman , External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said Kenyan diplomats had a meeting with officials of the ministry concerned and it has been conveyed to the Indian side that the reported incident "does not correspond with reality". Asserting that such attacks were "completely unacceptable and have been condemned", he said the government is engaged with the authorities concerned as well as the students.

Asked if these were racial attacks, Baglay said, "Pending the investigation it is not correct to go into the nature and the reason for these particular activities." There will be a better understanding after the outcome of the probe, he said. Four Nigerian students were attacked by a group of Greater Noida residents who took out a candle-light march after a 17-year-old boy Manish died last week in the NSG Black Cats Enclave due to suspected drug overdose.

The protest march was taken out after the police released some Nigerians detained for questioning in connection with death of Manish due to "lack of evidence".

Terming these acts as "the action of the uninformed and misguide few", Baglay said they do not detract from the deep belief of the government and the people of India of 'vasudeva kutumbakam' (the world is one family).

"We will continue to welcome African people including students and youth as valuable partners. Our engagement with Africa, embodied among others in the implementation of the historic IAFS III, will continue to grow," he said.

Baglay said the external affairs minister has spoken to the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar has spoken to the acting high commissioner of Nigeria.

"We are in touch with the Nigerian High Commission in New Delhi. The students who were hurt during the incident have been treated in a local hospital and have already been released," he said.

Law enforcement authorities of the district have made arrests and a large number of people are under watch, he said, adding, "The investigation is on and the law of the land will prevail."

The ministry is in touch with the district administration of Gautam Buddha Nagar, which has enhanced round-the-clock security in the area, he said.

He also noted that the district magistrate held a meeting of the residents, foreign students' associations in presence of the representatives from the Nigerian High Commission in New Delhi.

Nigeria calls Indian envoy

Nigeria has called in the Indian envoy in Abuja to register its protest over attacks on its nationals in India and sought "diligent prosecution" against the perpetrators. Confirming that its envoy B N Reddy had a "meeting" with Nigerian Foreign Ministry officials, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Gopal Baglay said in New Delhi that the Indian High Commissioner conveyed that India was committed to the safety and security of all foreigners, including Africans, in the country. Reddy also briefed the Nigerian officials about the several steps taken by Indian law enforcement agencies and the local authorities in connection with the attacks in Greater Noida, close to New Delhi. 

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Olushola Enikanolaiye, sought action from the Indian government during his meeting with Reddy in Abuja yesterday, state-run News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported.
The Nigerian students were attacked by several people during a candle-light march for a 17-year-old Indian boy, who died of suspected drug overdose last week in Greater Noida.
The boy's parents alleged that the foreigners had kidnapped him and given him drugs which led to his death. Enikanolaiye said the call for the prosecution of culprits was necessary to serve as a deterrent to others, the report said today.

"We want to see diligent prosecution so that it would serve as a deterrent to those who think they can take laws into their hands and harass students who are going about their studies.
"That is why we felt we should register our concern to you on this occasion, and to please ask your government to take effective measures that this does not occur again," he said.
Baglay, when asked if these were racial attacks, said pending investigations it was not right to draw any conclusion and the probe must be completed first.
Enikanolaiye expressed concern that the incident was not the first of its kind as Nigerians had been attacked in the past by Indians.

"It is therefore, a concern to us that Nigerian students in that place were harassed, beaten up and many of them were seriously injured," Enikanolaye was quoted as saying. "We think this should not have happened considering the excellent relationship between two of us -- the two countries have things in common and have been great friends," he said. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has said the government was taking immediate action and she had spoken to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who has assured her of a fair and impartial investigation into the "unfortunate" incident.