Xenophobic Attacks Going On In Greater Noida Against Africans

Hate crimes have been surfacing news every now and then, be it whites or the African students that are living in the country. No one is safe from the crude mentality of some people.

One such case recently came out when five African students residing in NSG Black Cats Enclave were accused of Kidnapping and cannibalism of a 19-year-old student. Manish Khari went out for a walk after his supper, on Friday, and didn’t come back home. After waiting for a long time, Manish’s parents along with many neighbours started finding him. Someone from the society claimed that he has seen Manish with some African students, who happen to live just 3 houses away.

The crowd barged into the African students’ home and failed to find Manish in the house. The crowd later accused the students of cannibalism and called the cops. Police took the students into protective custody. However, Manish did return on Saturday morning and started vomiting. His parents rushed him to the hospital where he died of a drug overdose.

The parents, as well as others from the locality, filed a First Information Reports against the African students who were later arrested. These 5 students were booked under the charges of murder and causing hurt by means of any poisonous substance with the intent to commit an offence.

The President of the Association of African Students in India, Samuel Abiye Jack, has now demanded the police to conduct a free trial. The association also wants the police to lodge a case against the residents who made the allegations.

The story doesn’t end here. The Africans came forward and had a protest against the people invaded the personal space of their fellow Africans without any proper permission.

However, from yesterday evening, videos are surfacing the internet of barbaric incidents against the African student. An African was brutally beaten up by the locals at a mall in Noida. Another incident where someone vandalised the vehicle of an African which led him to bleed badly.

Now, the Association of African Students in India has asked their members in Greater Noida to not come out of their houses until sufficient security measures are taken by the police and India Government. The residents of the NSG Black Cats Enclave were conducting a peaceful protest at Pari Chowk in Greater Noida, but the situation got out of control even with Police present at the area. The crowd spotted a few Africans and started attacking them.

Between all this, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has asked for a report on the incident from the Uttar Pradesh Government. She even tweeted about her conversation with UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath where he said to have a fair and impartial investigation into this unfortunate incident.

In relation to the xenophobic attacks that occurred on Monday, the police have arrested 5 people who were identified with the help of CCTV footage. The police have said that more arrests are likely to happen.

28th March 2017
Jyotsna Amla