NEW DELHI: Police stepped up security Wednesday in a northern Indian city where a mob attacked African students following the death of a local teenager from a suspected drug overdose.
Five people were arrested over the assault in Greater Noida in which the students were beaten with sticks and metal chairs, with police examining CCTV footage to identify other attackers.
“We are increasing security checkpoints and police presence around Greater Noida,” Superintendent Sujata Singh told AFP, referring to the satellite city outside India’s capital New Delhi.
“Our teams are also on the lookout for at least four other persons over the assault.”
Police have also identified around 40 others after scanning security tapes and footage shot by onlookers and broadcast by the media, Singh said.
They would be charged with rioting and unlawful assembly for involvement in the mob, he added.
Hundreds of African students live in Greater Noida, where there are several popular universities, engineering colleges and other educational institutions.
The latest attack followed the death of a local 16-year-old from an apparent drug overdose.
Police detained five Nigerian students in connection with the case after a group of local people went to their home and accused them of murder.
The students were later released after police failed to find any evidence against them.
But a crowd that had assembled for a candlelit vigil to demand justice for the teenager turned violent after spotting a group of Nigerians leaving a mall.
India’s foreign ministry condemned the incident as “deplorable” and assured the Nigerian high commissioner (ambassador) that all steps were being taken to protect their citizens in India.
Indian police set up security after mob attack on Africans
Indian police set up security after mob attack on Africans
Dozens missing after boat carrying more than 200 migrants capsized off the coast of Gambia
- At least 102 survivors have been rescued and seven bodies recovered from the boat that capsized on New Year’s Eve in northwest Gambia’s North Bank region
BANJUL: Dozens are missing after a boat carrying more than 200 migrants on their way to Europe capsized off the coast of Gambia, the West African nation’s leader said late Friday, setting off a frantic search and rescue operation.
At least 102 survivors have been rescued and seven bodies recovered from the boat that capsized on New Year’s Eve in northwest Gambia’s North Bank region, Gambian President Adama Barrow said in a state broadcast.
The emergency services were joined by local fishermen and other volunteers in searching for the victims, days after Wednesday’s incident near the village of Jinack, he said.
Thousands of Africans desperate for better opportunities in Europe risk their lives traveling on boats along the Atlantic coast, one of the world’s deadliest migrant routes that connects the West African coast across Gambia, Senegal and Mauritania.
Many migrants seeking to reach Spain via the Canary Islands never make it due to high risks of boats capsizing. In August 2025, around 150 people were either dead or missing after their boat that came from Gambia capsized off the coast of Mauritania. A similar incident in July 2024 killed more than a dozen migrants with 150 others declared missing.
It was not clear what led to the latest tragedy. Gambia’s Ministry of Defense said the boat was found “grounded on a sandbank.”
“The national emergency response plan has been activated and the government has deployed adequate resources to intensify efforts and provide assistance to the survivors,” Barrow said.
Some of the 102 survivors were undergoing urgent medical care, the Gambian leader said.
As he condoled with families, Barrow vowed a full investigation and called the accident a “painful reminder of the dangerous and life-threatening nature of irregular migration.”
“The government will strengthen efforts to prevent irregular migration and remains determined to create safer and more dignified opportunities for young people to fulfil their dreams,” he added.
