Delhi Police Rescues Tanzanians, Nigerians From Mob; Case Filed

Sources in Delhi Police told The Quint that no one was injured in the attacks.

The Delhi police has denied that there was any “racial attack” in Dwarka. 

(Photo: Screengrab/Altered by The Quint)

A couple of days after a mob allegedly attacked four Tanzanian and two Nigerian nationals in Delhi’s Dwarka, a case has been registered against unnamed people after two Tanzanian women complained that they were wrongfully restrained in Harsh Vihar, Kakrola on Thursday, 22 November.

The case has been registered at Dwarka (North) police station under section 341/34 of the IPC and investigation is underway.

Earlier on Thursday, 22 November, the African nationals were rescued from Dwarka, after they were allegedly attacked by a mob at different locations over rumours of child-kidnapping. The mob also labelled the African nationals "cannibals."

However, denying the attack, sources in Delhi Police had told The Quint that no one was injured in the incident. Earlier, in a separate statement to ANI, the Delhi Police had said that the attacks were not racially-motivated.

Those rescued by the police include Tanzanian nationals Assifa, Riziki, Fatima (25) and Esta Joshva (30), as well as Nigerians Nwaogu (38) and Ogbuewu (34).

The rumours had led to a crowd gathering outside a house in Dwarka, with allegations floating around that the Tanzanians and Nigerians had killed a child and eaten his flesh.

The police said that they dispersed the crowd after the rumours spread.

A woman also called the police alleging that her 16-year-old son had been kidnapped by the Nigerian men, the police said. A probe revealed that the boy believed to have been kidnapped had not even gone missing, said a senior police officer.

“Four Tanzanian and two Nigerian nationals were rescued last night from Kakrola area under Dwarka north police station limits. Police had received multiple calls against them including one that alleged that they have abducted a 16-year-old child. Delhi police had also received a call that they were allegedly being attacked by people. They were later rescued.”

Delhi Police

While the four Tanzanian women were rescued after a crowd had gathered outside their house, the two Nigerians were found by the police locked inside a house.

The incident happened at 6.30 pm on Thursday when police received five calls from Dwarka neighbourhood about a mob threatening to attack Africans living in the area. The sixth call complained about a 16-year-old local boy having been kidnapped.

“At one place, we found a crowd had gathered outside a house where some Africans lived. The mob had gathered on hearing rumours that the Africans were cannibals. We dispersed the crowd and rescued four Africans from there and took them to the local police station,” said the officer, reported Hindustan Times.

The Nigerians were sleeping when some people came and locked their room from outside. One of them does not possess an Indian visa, and will be deported, the police added.