Hyderabad Police on Friday said that the attack on a Nigerian student had nothing to with racism as the fight broke out due to parking issues.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said Sushma Swaraj has urgently sought a report from the Telangana government on the incident.
23-year-old Nigerian national Ghazeem was attacked with a rod by his landlord after an argument broke out with his neighbours over parking in Banjara Hills in Hyderabad.
On Wednesday evening, Ghazeem, a student of Nizam college, parked his car in front of his building owner, Mohammed Gafoor’s house. Despite repeated warnings, he did not move his car which triggered Gafoor to hit him on the head with a metal rod.
Hyderabad West Zone Deputy Commissioner AB Venkateswara Rao ruled out racism in the incident. He said,
Gafoor was angry about parking in front of his house and he chose to attack the person who refused to remove his car on demand. He (Gafoor) would have done the same even if it was a local.
Ghazeem was discharged from the hospital and later lodged a complaint with the police. He later withdrew it after the accused apologised to him and the Nigerians’ Welfare Association convinced him to do the same.
The accused has been arrested on Falong with two other locals booked for supporting him instead of protecting the student.
Mounting Worries for the Ministry of External Affairs
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has sought a report from the state government about the incident.
Due to the rising number of attacks against Africans in the country, African envoys had earlier refused to attend the Centre’s Africa Day celebrations on Thursday. They agreed to attend after the External Affairs ministry intervened and promised them that safety of foreign nationals is of high priority.
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(With IANS inputs)
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