Indian boy killed in Kenya: Sushma Swaraj seeks report from Indian embassy

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday asked the Indian embassy in Kenya to look into an incident where an Indian boy has been allegedly shot dead in Nairobi.

A Twitter user Netra Parikh brought the incident to Swaraj's notice.

“Madam Indian Family boy shot dead in his home in Nairobi.Can you pls check reports & help/support them. Thanks,” she tweeted.

Taking note of the incident, the External Affairs Minister tweeted late on Saturday night following a request by one Netra Parikh. "Suchitra (Suchitra Durai, India's High Commissioner to Kenya) - Please send me a report on this."

Kenya is home to around 80,000 people of Indian origin.

In a separate tweet, Sushma Swaraj asked the Indian High Commissioner to South Africa Ruchira Kamboj to extend help after an Indian national died of natural causes while on a tour in that country.

'Sikh boy beaten in US school'

Earlier on Saturday, Swaraj asked the Indian embassy in the United States to look into an incident where a Sikh boy was allegedly beaten.

According to media reports, a 14-year-old boy of Indian origin was beaten by his classmate in Washington. The boy's family has alleged that it was a hate crime and that the boy was targeted for being of Indian origin. A video of the incident was also posted on Snapchat and the consequent outrage has led Swaraj to seek a report from the Indian embassy.

Even as local authorities investigate the incident, school officials have reportedly denied any link to the boy's origin as a reason for the attack. Instead, it is learnt that they have blamed a previous classroom dispute.

The boy's father - who has refused to be identified - however told a news channel that his son had never interacted with the attacker. "I am feeling so, so bad because this happened with my son," he said. "He never interacted with this guy. He did not know his name, I don't want to see this happen again with my son or anyone else. I don't want to see this."

Hate crimes in the US have increased in recent months - especially in the wake of attacks claimed by groups like ISIS. The Sikh community has been especially vulnerable and were also targeted in the months after the September 11 attack.