Bengaluru: The Second Secretary Immigration, Zambian High Commissioner, Mwitumwa Namunda Lubinda was in Bengaluru to meet the African students to reassure them at Acharya Institute, while a section of media in Zambia is playing up news that there was bloodshed in Bengaluru. They said Indian locals were assaulting African nationals after an accident involving a Sudanese student that happened on Sunday night.
A staff from the management of Acharya College on Monday had called up Soladevanahalli police station to enquire about how many Africans were either killed, injured, or have gone missing, after Sunday night’s incident, as the Zambia media had stated that seven Africans were killed by Indian locals after the accident. We had to clarify them that it was not the Africans, but an Indian woman who died in an accident, involving a Sudanese student, who was later arrested, said a police source. DC had reported this in its February 2 edition.
"The students expressed concerns over security. I will take up these concerns with Indian Ministry of External Affairs officials and the state government during a meeting,” said Mr Mwitumwa Namunda Lubinda, as he met African students at Acharya Institute in Hesaraghatta, on Friday.
Mr Lubinda, who arrived in the city along with Ministry of External Affairs officials and Tanzanian envoy and High Commissioner of Tanzania to India, John W.H. Kijazi, later brought a busload of students to the police commissioner N.S. Megharikh’s office, where a closed door meeting was held between the MEA officials, DG&IGP Om Prakash, and the African student representatives.
The student leaders made it clear that their safety was compromised, and gave a list of clashes between African students and local residents. As MEA officials and the diplomat ruled out racism in the incident, the African student representatives said they understood their concerns and would work on them diplomatically.
