New Delhi: In a shocking video which surfaced on Monday, a Nigerian national, who was accused of stealing, was seen begging and screaming for help while he was being tied to a post, chained and brutally thrashed by a mob of around 30 people in South Delhi’s Malviya Nagar. The foreign national, who was accused of being caught red-handed while stealing from a house in Savitri Nagar on September 24, was later sent to jail.
The video went viral on social media, forcing the police to act on the brutal beating and mob fury. According to police, the accused has identified himself as Ahmad. He hails from Nigeria and claimed to be residing in Lajpat Nagar.
It all began when the complainant, Krishan Kumar, woke up to the sound of his almirah being opened by someone, after which he raised an alarm. Mr Kumar claimed that a man tried to exit the building from the main gate, but was intercepted by two of the former’s brothers, Prem Chand and Madan Singh. Locals, who had gathered at the spot, allegedly tied the said man to a pole and assaulted him with wooden sticks.
The beating stopped after a PCR call was made. A police team reached the spot and took Ahmad to the hospital. He was later charged under Sections 380 (theft), 457 (lurking house-trespass or house break-in by night), and 511 (punishment for attesting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life) of the IPC. He was produced before a court and sent to jail. The Nigerian embassy was informed of his arrest.
However, on Monday, the police arrested Mr Kumar when the matter snowballed into a controversy and took on a racial colour.
When questioned about the atrocities done on the foreign national in the video, the senior police officer said, “We got to know about this today after the video clip came out. No one has the right to beat him, even if there were allegations. We have registered a case and arrested one person.”
The police has identified the other four persons, who can be seen thrashing the Nigerian in the video.
