The detainees were being taken to the police station.
New Delhi:
Around 100 people of African origin surrounded a police team in the Neb Sarai area of south Delhi on Saturday, clashed with them and freed Nigerian citizens who had been detained by the anti-drug force due to the expiration of the visa. The detainees were being transferred to the police station.
A team from the Narcotics Cell had gone at 2:30 pm to Raju Park in Neb Sarai for deportation proceedings for foreign nationals who overstayed and picked up three Nigerian nationals whose visas had expired.
Meanwhile, a mob of more than 100 people of African origin surrounded them and obstructed the police operation. Two of the three detainees managed to escape successfully during the chaos, but the police managed to catch one of them again, Philip, 22.
Videos taken by bystanders showed police forming a human barricade together with a thick rope as people in the crowd cheered them on. Some physical altercations were also caught on camera.
Later, a joint team from Neb Sarai Police Station and Narcotics Squad again visited Raju Park at 6:30 pm and arrested four Nigerians, including a woman.
In retaliation, between 150 and 200 people of African descent again surrounded the police team and tried to help the detainees escape, police said. Somehow, the police managed to control the escalation of the situation and took the criminals to the Neb Sarai police station, where deportation proceedings are taking place.
