A ‘peaceful’ vigil march held after the death of an 18-year-old boy in Greater Noida, turned into a racial attack on Monday, with angry mobs targeting and beating up students from African nations living in the area. 

Most of the victims of the violence were foreigners who were shopping near Pari Chowk and Ansal Plaza area. 

Here is a video posted on Facebook of a man being attacked at Ansal Plaza: 

And another, posted by the Association of African Students in India: 

The attack comes after protests over the death of Manish Khari, a class 12 student living in Greater Noida’s NSG Society. Khari died of cardiac arrest due to suspected drug overdose on Saturday. 

Locals had been holding a candle-light vigil to honour the momory of Khari and also to demand speedy justice from the government. 

A police official told Indian Express that a section of those who were part of the protest attacked the students. 

According to the report, at least four Nigerian nationals were injured in  the attack.

According to a report in Hindustan Times, five persons have been arrested in connection with the violence and the Minister for External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj has also asked for a report on the incident.

Local residents of the Greater Noida area have accused the students from African nations living there of drug trafficking and even cannibalism. 

(Also read: After Being Bizarrely Accused Of Cannibalism, Five Nigerian Students Forced To Go Into Hiding)

After Manish Khari went missing on Friday, residents of NSG Society raided the house of five Nigerian students, accusing them of ‘eating’ the boy. They even checked inside the refrigerator for human remains. 

When the boy came home in an intoxicated state on Saturday and succumbed to a drug overdose the same day, his family and residents accused five Nigerian students of providing the boy with the drugs. 

The five accused were taken into police custody allegedly to ‘protect’ them. However, no case has been registered against them so far due to lack of evidence. 

Following the attacks, the Association for African Students has been issuing regular alerts to students from African in Noida, warning them of the imminent danger outside and urging them to stay indoors. 

Feature Image Source: Facebook