Indian mob ties Nigerian to lamp post, brutalises him over alleged theft - Shepherd Digest Magazine

A video has emerged showing a Nigerian living in India being brutalised by a mob, an incident which the police claimed was not connected to racism.

The video, which has gone viral online and sparked outrage, showed some Indians beating up the Nigerian, simply identified as Ahmad, after already tying him to a pole with ropes.

The man could be heard screaming and begging for his life.

According to NDTV report, the man was allegedly caught in the early hours of September 24 trying to rob a house at Malviya Nagar in south Delhi, an area which is popular with African students in the city.

The house belonged to one Krishna Kumar.

After the brutal assault, the Nigerian, who was wounded and unconscious with injuries to his head, face, limbs and back, was arrested by the police and charged before a court which sent him to jail. The police said Ahmad was found in possession of a wire cutter and a bag with master keys.

Eyewitnesses allegedly told the police that he had hurt himself when he fell down the stairs while trying to escape.

The Hindu reported that residents of Savitri Nagar agreed that Ahmad was tied to a pole and beaten up by many people around 4 a.m. and that they did not regret their actions.

“He was tied with ropes and beaten up by residents. He was caught red-handed and had been troubling us for the past two months here,” said Pawan Kumar, a 40-year-old resident, alleging that Ahmad had committed theft in several households in the area.

The residents rejected claims that the attack was racial, alleging that Ahmad had been terrorising the area for two months. The Hindu reported that the locals produced three videos, all showing Ahmad comitting crimes at different times.

The report said, “In one of them, Ahmad can be seen attempting to break into a house. In the other two, he can be seen running around.”

“The videos are of two incidents from around September 15. There have been so many thefts in the area. Once, cash worth ₹15,000 was stolen, another time, ₹2,500 and the other time two laptops were stolen. There are more cases but complaints of these three thefts were given to the police,” said Ravi Kumar, a resident.