Mistaken for thief, an African man was thrashed by a group of people at Hennur Bande near Banaswadi late Sunday night.
Covulibaly, 30, a native of Ivory Coast, was rushed to Speciality Hospital on Banaswadi main road. He was discharged after treatment on Monday, the police said.
Preliminary investigation revealed that a group of men assaulted him as they thought he was a thief due to his suspicious movements. Police ruled out a racial angle to the attack.
Covulibaly told police he had come to Hennur from his house in BTM Layout to have food. He was walking on the road when a group of around 15 men intercepted him at Hennur Bande, calling him a thief. He then began to run for safety but was surrounded and assaulted, he claimed.
He managed to escape but injured his palm, hands and the back of his head while jumping over a wall, he added.
Police said he was under the influence of alcohol and had consumed drugs. “He told police he was chased because he did something wrong but did specify what he had done,” said a police officer.
He did not even recall what he had stated on Monday morning and repeatedly changed his versions. He was subjected to medical examination, the police added.
Police are yet to verify his background and antecedents. He claimed he came to Bengaluru on a student visa in 2012 to pursue BBM at East Point College. He also claimed he was doing Java programming and was teaching at an institute, police said.
“We are in the process of getting his visa, passport and other documents to establish his background and claims. There are no crime records against him, police said.
“Covulibaly told me he had come to Hennur for a hair cut and there seems to be some mistaken identity or misunderstanding,” legal advisor to African Students Union in Bengaluru Bosco Kaweesi said.
The Hennur police registered cases under IPC sections 323, 324 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 504 (intentional insult) against unidentified persons. Police are trying to get CCTV footage of the area to establish the suspects’ identity, added the police.
