India Government Says The Killing Of Africans In India Is A Criminal Act & Not ‘Xenophobic As Termed By African Envoys

The Indian Central Government on Monday expressed its displeasure over African envoys’ statement on a recent attack on African nationals which took place in Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida. The Government, in a statement, termed Arican envoys’ description of the incident as “unfortunate”. Earlier, the envoys had termed the incident as “xenophobic and racial”.

The government statement came as a reaction to strong remarks made by African envoys who had criticized India for not taking “known, sufficient and visible” deterrent action. External Affairs Ministry tonight said investigations on the death of Indian teenager and the subsequent incident by local authorities are ongoing.

Heads of African missions in India termed the incidents as “xenophobic and racial” and asserted that no known, sufficient and visible deterring measures have been taken by the government. The envoys, showing their deep concerns, have said that they expected a strong condemnation from the highest political level both nationally and locally. The entire incident started after the death of 17-year-old local boy, Manish, reportedly died due to a drug overdose.

Taking note of the incident, the envoys held a “special” meeting and called for an independent investigation by the Human Rights Council as well as other human rights bodies and also to comprehensively report the matter to the Commission of the African Union. In a press release, the office of the dean of the African group head of the missions stated that a meeting was convened to look into the recent attacks against African students in Greater Noida.

“The meeting unanimously agreed that those accumulated attacks against Africans are xenophobic and racial in nature,” they said. Condemning the attacks, the African authorities expressed their concerns and noted that these “reprehensible events, both outstanding and unresolved cases against Africans, were not sufficiently condemned by the Indian authorities”. With financialexpress.com