Early on Monday, 12 December, an African national was found dead on New Delhi's Mahatma Gandhi Road, reports said.
The identity of the deceased person is yet to be ascertained. News agency ANI reported that a passerby noticed the body and immediately informed the police, who sent the body for a post-mortem.
Times Now quoted police sources saying that there are no visible injury marks on the deceased’s body but the body has been sent for inspection since an unnatural death is suspected.
As per multiple reports, it is yet to be ascertained if the person has been murdered or he met with an accident. The police department is in touch with the embassy to identify the deceased.
The National Capital has witnessed several instances of violence against African nationals this year, including racially motivated attacks.
In March this year, an unruly mob attacked Nigerian students in a Greater Noida mall. The incidents began gaining attention after the death of 16-year-old Manish Khari due to a drug overdose. According to reports, people assumed that the drugs were given to Khari by his five Nigerian neighbours.
Two months later, another such incident was reported from South Delhi. On 9 October, shocking visuals of a Nigerian national being tied to a pole, and being beaten by locals for an alleged theft in Delhi’s Malviya Nagar emerged. Last year, on 20 May, a 23-year-old Congolese was stoned to death in Vasant Kunj over an auto ride.
Following the reports and national condemnation, Delhi Police started a helpline for Africans.
The government and the police deny a racial angle and term the attacks “minor scuffles” and “isolated incidents”.
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