Bengaluru: A Tanzanian female student was beaten up and stripped by a mob in a case of “mistaken identity”, after a woman was killed by a car in Bengaluru. The 21 year old BBM student was dragged out of her car in which she was seated along with three other friends after they reached the accident spot. She was stripped by a section of the mob and pushed out of a slow-moving bus that was passing by as she tried to board it to escape from them, said the All African Students Union adviser, Bosco Kaweesi.
The other three were also beaten up. Kaweesi said she was in no way connected with the accident which had occurred much before and, that the police “was not helpful” when they were approached. Police Commissioner NS Megharikh said that after the accident claimed the life of a 35 year old woman, the driver of the car was assaulted and taken to the hospital. The Tanzanian woman and her friends had reached the spot much later, and the mob mistook them for being responsible. “It was mistaken identity,” he said. “We have taken up the case for assault on the woman,” he said. He said a mob of 200 to 300 people were present after the accident but the police had brought the situation under control after the mishap.
Five people including a gram panchayat member have been arrested for rioting and arson, and the the attack on the student, based on eyewitness accounts and footage of CCTV cameras. Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara, who announced the arrests said the people were in the process of identifying those involved in the attacks.
