Bengaluru: The IT city once again showed its intolerant face when six African nationals and two policemen were beaten up by a group of irate locals at Byrathi in east Bengaluru on Monday night. Soon after the attack, many African nationals, mostly students, wanted to flee the city fearing further attacks.
Eyewitnesses said the situation looked like a riot and lasted for a few hours as the locals went slapping and bashing the African nationals living in the area. Locals said they were at their wits end as they had to put up with `bad and indecent behaviour’ of the African nationals and the police refused to take action.
According to the police, it all started when a group of local youths got upset at an African national who was speeding on his motorcycle near the residence of local MLA Byrathi Basavaraj. They started pelting stones at the motorcyclist. Minutes later, a car carrying four Africans who were returning home came under attack by the stone-pelting mob.
The same group then started looking out for other Africans and found John, his sister and her friend who were walking home after attending a party. They were also attacked. While John escaped into the house of a friend, the ladies managed to flee to safety.
The group chased and found John and dragged him and three other African nationals out of the house and attacked them with stones. John and a friend suffered serious head injuries and were rushed to hospital.
When the police reached the spot, the group assaulted and injured two policemen. The attackers fled the spot by the time reinforcement arrived.
The situation in the area had been simmering for quite some time with residents making several complaints in the past to the police that foreign nationals indulged in obscene acts in public. But the police did not take any action and that resulted in the people taking law into their own hands.
The police have heightened security in the area which is home to hundreds of Africans from various nations. They told the police that they feared for their lives and wanted to leave the city. But Additional Commissioner of Police Alok Kumar and DCP (North East) Vikash Kumar and the DCP counselled them against doing so.
Police Commissioner played down the incident saying: “There was pushing and jostling by a mob… but no assault.” The jurisdictional DCP said the victims have not lodged a complaint.
