A candlelight march over the death of a 17-year-old boy turned violent on Monday, resulting in as many as four African nationals being beaten up near Pari Chowk in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The family of the boy, who died from an alleged drug overdose on Saturday evening, had accused their five Nigerian neighbours for the death and demanded their arrest. Based on the family’s complaint, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against the five accused under various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) including section 302 (punishment for murder). However, no evidence has been found against the accused so far, Sujata Singh, SP (Rural), Gautam Buddha Nagar, said.

Abdou Ibrahim, former president and senior advisor of Association of African Students in India (AASI) told Newslaundry that following the attack, police have directed additional forces to Greater Noida to “secure the area”. Despite this, the group has advised students from Africa to stay indoors for now, Ibrahim added.

The group also posted videos of the assault and injuries sustained by the victims on their Facebook page.

Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj tweeted this morning that she had spoken to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath about the incident and he assured her of a “fair and impartial investigation” into it.