Anti-Nigerian posters have come up in Noida, where three students were attacked on Monday.
India is committed to ensuring safety and security of all foreigners in India, the foreign ministry has said a day after a mob attack on a group of Nigerian students in Greater Noida, near Delhi. "People from Africa, including students and youth, remain our valued partners," the statement read. The Uttar Pradesh government has promised a thorough investigation and quick report on the issue. The three students -- who are in hospital -- were attacked on Monday evening after a Class 12 student in the area died, allegedly of drug overdose and his parents claimed he had accessed it from the Nigerians. Overnight, posters have come up in the area, demanding a 'Nigerian free Greater Noida'.
Here are the 10 latest developments on this big story:
Calling the attack "deplorable", the foreign ministry statement said junior foreign minister MJ Akbar has spoken to the Acting High Commissioner of Nigeria, explaining the steps that are being taken by local authorities for the "safety and security of Nigerian nationals".
The police said they have already arrested seven people and promised more arrests. A case of attempt to murder and violence has been lodged against about 300 unidentified people.
This morning, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted that she has spoken to UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who, she said, has promised a "fair and impartial" investigation. Her response came after an African student, in a tweet, pleaded for action, saying living in the area has become "a life threatening issue".
"This is not expected from a country which says 'athithi devo bhavo' (a guest is God). There is much hue and cry if Indians are attacked abroad, but why are we being treated like animals," one of the students told reporters.
On Monday evening, over a thousand residents were holding a candlelight protest over the death of the Class 12 student, when some of them spotted some Nigerian students at a shopping mall. A video of the violence that followed, apparently shot on a cellphone, showed a large group kicking and punching one of the Nigerian students and hitting him with steel dustbins.
The protesters alleged that 17-year-old Manish Khari was supplied drugs by Africans who live in the area. Manish had been missing for a day and was found in bushes near his home. He was taken to a hospital, where he died of a cardiac arrest.
Top UP police officer Daljeet Singh said the postmortem report does make the cause of death clear. "His parents have alleged that he died of an overdose of drugs supplied to him by Nigerian students," Mr Singh said.
Security has been strengthened in areas where the Africans, mostly students in Greater Noida's universities, live.
The police have banned processions or protests in Gautam Buddha Nagar, of which Greater Noida is a part. This afternoon, African students are expected to meet the police and senior government officials.
There have been several attacks on Africans in and around Delhi, most recently in the capital's Vasant Kunj area, where a Congolese man was stoned to death last week. Last year, some Nigerians were beaten up in Delhi's Chhattarpur.
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