Africans in Hyderabad, Telangana are safe, says top cop

Hyderabad, May 31: Telangana's Director General of Police Anurag Sharma on Tuesday, May 31 said that Africans living in Hyderabad and elsewhere in the state "can rest assured about their safety", adding there is "no racism here".

"There is no racism here. All are equal. Still, we will take further care to ensure their safety in the wake of the attacks reported in the recent times and the concerns raised over their safety," Sharma said at a media interaction here in the wake of President Pranab Mukherjee commenting on the issue of safety of Africans in India.

The police chief asserted that the attack on 23-year-old Nigerian student Kazeem Dami in Hyderabad last week was a clear case of dispute over car parking and had nothing to do with racism as alleged by the student. "The accused in that case was arrested for assaulting on the student (Nigerian)," the DGP said.

"We have many foreign students studying or working here. We are taking care of their safety. We do not have different laws for different people. All will be governed and dealt with under the same law of the land," Sharma elaborated.

Asked if the police face problems from the Africans here, the DGP said: "We do not categorise. If problems are faced from some people, that will not be attributed to the community."

Kazeem had parked his Honda Accord car in front of the house of a neighbour. This resulted in Mohammed Gafoor, the neighbour, and some other locals attacking Dami.

The student suffered head injuries that required seven stitches. Gafoor was arrested the same day. Kazeem alleged that "some 15 Indians attacked me".

IANS