A screenshot from a video of the attack uploaded on YouTube by a user named 'Gowsick 19'
Four days after three African students were assaulted by a mob at a metro station in Delhi, the government has condemned the attack and said it "has zero tolerance for racism."
That stand was conveyed to diplomats from the countries of Gabon and Burkina Faso in West Africa after they complained about the incident to the Home Ministry. The government has also reassured the envoys that the police is investigating the attack and details of the inquiry will be shared.
It's not clear what triggered Sunday evening's assault on the students. Some people who claim to be witnesses say the trio had harassed a woman passenger. The police says it has no confirmation of this and that no complaint was filed against the students.
But after the students were escorted away from the train that had just pulled in to a police kiosk (again, it's not clear why they were led away), they found themselves alone in the booth. The mob hit them repeatedly with sticks. One student tried to fight back after climbing onto the top of the kiosk. For five minutes, the attack was filmed by commuters using cellphones - not one intervened. Policemen and security guards present at the station let the beating continue for nearly five minutes before finally dispersing the crowd.
Nobody has been arrested so far, though the police says it has identified two-three of the attackers and filed a case against "unknown persons" for rioting; there is no mention of racism in the complaint.