Govt. 'proactively' looking into Tanzanian student assault case: Rijiju

Condemning the Tanzanian student assault case, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said the Central Government is 'proactively' looking into the matter.

"The Central Government should take this thing seriously. There should be no discrimination. If it happens, it's a very insulting thing for the nation. We are sympathetic to the issue. So, we are looking into the matter proactively," Rijiju told the media here.

"It is an unfortunate incident. We will look into the matter. Our country, considering its past, was a victim to racial discrimination. It is a matter of disappointment if racial discrimination takes place in India," he added.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked the Karnataka Government to submit a report on the unfortunate incident.

Tanzanian High Commissioner to India, John Kijazi, had earlier told ANI that they want the police to take strict action and arrest all the culprits.

He also said the High Commission has written to the Indian Government, which in turn have assured them of action.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had yesterday condemned the attack on the Tanzanian student and asked for stringent punishment for the guilty.

The Tanzanian student was beaten and then stripped by a group of locals in Bengaluru after they assumed she was part of an incident in which a Sudanese man had run over a local woman.

The incident took place on Hesaraghatta Road in Bengaluru on Saturday night after a Sudanese national ran his car over a 35-year-old woman resulting in on the spot death of the woman.

The Tanzanian student was travelling in another car, a Wagon-R, along with four others. The young woman, who arrived on the spot around 30 minutes later, was dragged out of the car and paraded naked after being stripped by the mob.

The victim told the police in her complaint that when she tried to get on a bus in order to escape the assault, people on the bus pushed her back towards the mob.

Earlier, the local residents set fire to two cars belonging to the African students, who studied in local colleges in Ganapathinagar on Hesaraghatta Road.