Two Nigerian nationals, including a football coach, were brutally assaulted with cricket and baseball bats after one of them protested and scolded a child for hurling a water-filled balloon on him in a West Delhi's Uttam Nagar area.
They were attacked by a group of 12 young men soon after. The incident occurred on Sunday and police, who registered a case 24 hours later, after senior officers intervened, are yet to make any arrest.
The victims have not returned to their house in Dwarka Mor since the incident. They said they have been receiving threatening calls.
"We are so scared… we are staying in my friend's home and planning to leave this area. But we will fight and will try to get justice," one of the victims, Evwrirhe Isaac, told a leading daily. Isaac works as a coach in a soccer club in Gulmohar Bagh.
While most of the local residents have told police they were not at home at the time of the incident, others claimed that they knew nothing about it, said sources.
“We have registered a case under several appropriate sections of the Indian Penal Code at Uttam Nagar police station and efforts are on to nab the accused," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Pushpendra Kumar.
Isaac, who has been in India for eight years and has played for leading football clubs, said: "I have been living in Dwarka for three years in a rented accommodation. I am used to people passing racist remarks, I have always ignored them. But what happened with us Sunday was something beyond racism. We were beaten up so badly… we could have been killed."
Isaac said he was on his way to the market when a boy hurled a water-filled balloon at him. A police officer said this angered Isaac who caught hold of the boy and scolded him. He left the boy with a shopkeeper. Once he left, the boy’s brother arrived at the shop and the shopkeepers told him what had happened.
"Within minutes, some people knocked on my door and began shouting. They then barged inside, ransacked my home and assaulted me and my roommate Aliyu Abdul," he said.
The group comprised over 10 young men, who were carrying cricket and baseball bats, said Isaac. "They were hitting me… I pleaded with them to spare my life. I somehow managed to free myself and ran towards the balcony.
They chased me and pushed me from the second floor of the building," he said. His roommate Abdul said, “I kept telling them that I was not with Isaac during the incident, but they did not stop."
Isaac claimed police registered a case only after senior officers intervened. "I went to the police station and requested them to help me out, but they refused to help, saying there was a strike going on in a government hospital, so they could not take me anywhere," he added.
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