African accused of attacking 10-year-old passerby during protest in JC Nagar

A 10-year-old boy suffered a head injury and received eight stitches after an African allegedly pushed him during the protest against the custodial death of a Congolese man on Monday, according to a police complaint.

The class 5 student and his mother were passing by the JC Nagar police station when a member of the protesting African group walked up to them and pounced on the boy in a fit of rage around 3.30 pm.

The mother became frightened and pleaded with the African to spare her son. But the African flung the boy onto a stone next to MJ Bakery at Muniswamappa Road. The boy started bleeding profusely from the head and had to be rushed to the nearby Chiraayu Hospital, the same health facility where the Congolese man, Joan alias Joel Shindani Malu, 27, had died.

The boy received eight stitches on the head but is stable now, police quoted the doctors as saying. His mother has filed a complaint, and the police are searching for the African suspect.

CID probes death

Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) questioned the JC Nagar police personnel and recorded their statement about the circumstances of Joel’s death. While the police state that he had complained of chest pain and was taken to hospital where he died, most probably of cardiac arrest, the African community claims that police had abducted him from his Hennur home, drugged him and murdered him.

Also read: CID starts probe into Congolese man's custodial death

Police also claim that Joel didn’t have any external injuries, although the post-mortem report is still awaited. Joel’s body samples have also been sent for forensic examination, the result of which will take time.

Police probe violence

On the other hand, JC Nagar police have launched an investigation into the violent protest by the African community. Police say several cops were injured when the Africans scuffled with them. Five protesters have already been arrested, and police are searching for more.

On Wednesday, one of the arrested suspects was found to have consumed drugs during a medical examination.