A video of a Nigerian man being thrashed by a mob in Delhi's Malviya Nagar has sparked outrage.
Highlights
- Incident happened two weeks ago in Malviya Nagar in south Delhi
- In video, Nigerian national seen with feet tied to lamp post
- Police say action will be taken against the attackers
A Nigerian man begs and screams as he is tied to a post and thrashed in Delhi, in a disturbing video that has been shared with NDTV. The police say no connection to racism has been found.
The man was allegedly caught trying to rob a house at Malviya Nagar in south Delhi, an area which is popular with African students in the city.
After the brutal assault, he was arrested and jailed but his attackers are still roaming free.
He was allegedly caught in the early hours of September 24 inside the house of a resident, Krishna Kumar, who said he was woken up by the noise of an almirah.
The man was wounded and barely conscious when he was handed over to the police later that day. People in the neighbourhood allegedly told the police that he had hurt himself when he fell down the stairs while trying to escape.
The video shared with NDTV exposes the collective lie.
After the video surfaced, the police said action would be taken against the attackers.
In the mobile phone video, the Nigerian is seen with his feet tied to a lamp post, pleading with his attackers as they keep hitting him with sticks. Voices in the background can be heard egging on the mob and saying: "Someone get red chilly... Beat him harder..." No one tries to stop the attackers.
One man yanks him by his bound feet and aims hard on the sole with a stick.
"Forgive me!" the man cries out, his hands folded, but it doesn't move his attackers, who keep slapping him and demanding to know whether he has any hidden money.
In one visual, he is tied to a lamp post and in his underwear.
He was taken to the police in that state, with injuries to his head, face, limbs and back. The police say after he was treated in a hospital, he was produced before a judge who sent him to jail.
The police say with the video revealing that he was assaulted, action will be taken against his attackers.
Earlier this year, after incidents targeting Africans in Delhi and nearby, a group of envoys described the attacks as "
xenophobic and racial". The government emphatically denied any race attack, calling them "criminal acts".
In separate attacks caught on camera near Delhi in April, four Nigerians were assaulted by protesters taking out a march after a schoolboy's death from a suspected drug overdose and a Nigerian student was beaten inside a mall.