Four new cases of criminal assault on African nationals reported

New Delhi: Amid outrage by African envoys following killing of a Congolese youth in the national capital, four cases of alleged criminal assault on African nationals in south Delhi have come to the fore.

All four incidents took place between 9.30 PM and 11.30 PM on Thursday in Mehrauli area. All four complainants, in their 30s, have been residing in Delhi for past few years, police said.

In two cases, the complainants are women -- one a Uganda national and the other a native of South Africa, in the other two, the complainants are two Nigerian men.

In two cases in which the Nigerian men are involved is "believed" to have taken place following an argument with the locals, a senior police official said.

However, circumstances in the other two cases are not clear, he said.

The accused in all four cases are yet to be identified, the official said.

Police claimed that these are four separate incidents which have nothing to do with the violence against Indians in Congo, following the youth's murder in Vasant Kunj area here.

Envoys of African countries on Thursday had expressed shock over killing of Congolese national Masonda Ketada Oliver here last week following which India assured them of safety of African nationals.

Police also claimed that the attacks, the causes behind which are yet to be verified, did not take place on racial lines.

"Cases of causing hurt and wrongful restraint have been registered in all four cases. Efforts are on to nab the accused," Additional DCP (south) Nupur Prasad said.

Last week, 23-year-old Oliver was allegedly beaten to death by three men following an argument over hiring an auto-rickshaw in south Delhi's Vasant Kunj area. While two of the accused have been arrested in connection with the case, the third is still absconding.