A young Congolese teacher has been killed by a group of men in New Delhi, police said Saturday, the latest victim in a series of attacks on African nationals in India. Three men pelted M. T. Olivia, 23, with stones and bricks after chasing him through the upscale neighbourhood of Vasant Kunj late Friday, police said, following an altercation.
"It started when the Congolese man was hiring an auto-rickshaw. They had a heated argument leading to the attack," Ishwar Singh, deputy police commissioner for south-west Delhi, told AFP, adding that the man died in hospital early Saturday. "One of the attackers has been arrested," he said. The police official said a manhunt had been launched to find the remaining attackers, who also beat up a local resident after he tried to help the foreigner.
The victim taught at a private institute in southern New Delhi, police said. Singh said the assault was not racially motivated. Yet attacks on African nationals are relatively common in India, where they face frequent racial discrimination and harassment by locals. Police typically reject any suggestion of racist intent in the case of attacks. In 2013, a Nigerian national was killed by a mob in western Goa state, with local politicians later comparing Africans to "cancer". The politicians demanded the eviction of Africans from the state and local councils ordered residents not to rent them their homes.