Man arrested in Goa for Nigerian`s murder

Zee Media Bureau

Panaji: The Goa police have arrested one person in connection with the murder of a Nigerian national in north coastal Goa last week, which led to a huge diplomatic furore between New Delhi and Abuja. Surendra Paul, 24, who is suspected to have links with the drug mafia, has been arrested for the murder of Nigerian Obodo Simon. Paul was arrested from Chapora, a village known as a haven for drug traffickers, located 30 km from Panaji. Police suspect that Paul was one of the six attackers involved in killing Obina Simione on October 31. Simon was found dead with stab wounds in the Mapusa town of Panaji last week, triggering angry protests by a group of 200 Nigerians who blocked a major national highway and clashed with the police and the public. Over 50 Nigerians were arrested following the violence. Later, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told a press conference that all foreigners staying illegally in Goa, including those working in the hospitality industry, will be deported. A Nigerian consular official, on Monday, warned that thousands of Indians in his country would be "thrown out on the streets" if police don`t stop evicting Nigerians from their rented homes in Goa. Speaking to a news agency after meeting members of the Nigerian community in Goa, bureaucrats and police officials over the last two days, consular attaché Jacob Nwadadia said: "There are only 50,000 Nigerians living in India but there are over one million Indians living in Nigeria. Thousands of Indians living there will be thrown out on the streets if forcible eviction of Nigerians in Goa does not stop." The Nigerians, who were protesting the murder of one of their compatriots, had blocked National Highway 17 for several hours, demanding the presence of Nigerian consular officials for the autopsy proceedings. During the clashes, the Nigerians not only smashed a police hearse van, but also dumped the corpse in the middle of the road, blocking all traffic. They later snatched lathis from the intimidated policemen who were mute spectators and began to threaten the locals as well as the policemen themselves for a couple of hours. Parrikar later claimed that the murder was a result of a war between two narcotics gangs, while the Nigerians said their fellow national was murdered by the local drug mafia which had the sympathies of a minister. (With IANS inputs)