African students in Mumbai told to ‘remain indoors’ after attacks by Indian mobs

Indian mobs near the nation’s capital have attacked and wounded at least nine university students from African countries since Sunday in a spasm of racial violence that a senior official called “deplorable”.

The attacks – which began after an Indian family accused five Nigerian men of kidnapping and killing their teenage son – prompted the Association of African Students in India to warn its members in Greater Noida, a satellite city of New Delhi, to “remain indoors” to avoid being hurt.

In the latest incident, a 24-year-old Kenyan woman was hauled out of a taxi and beaten unconscious with sticks by about a dozen people early on Wednesday morning.

The woman regained consciousness and got herself to a medical clinic in a rickshaw before police brought her to a hospital, where she was treated and released, said Abdou Ibrahim, a senior adviser to the students’ association.

The group issued a statement on Facebook discouraging “any form of retaliation”.

“With regards to food and other daily home needs that might prompt anyone to go out, we are working towards creating a system to ensure that supplies [get] to you all,” it said.

Police in Greater Noida have arrested five people and booked dozens more for violence as India’s foreign minister urged authorities in Uttar Pradesh state to carry out an intensive investigation.