South Sudanese victim of racist attack quits studies at university

Chol Akoch, the South Sudan national, had taken admission in Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Technology (BMLT) at Teerthankar Mahaveer University in the 2014-15 session. On May 10, 2015, Akoch and his friend Aver Monytong were allegedly chased and attacked by a 15-20 strong mob armed with bricks and iron rods at their rented house in Pakbada on Delhi Road. The attackers, who allegedly included locals and students of the university who were also neighbours of the two, locked them inside the house before assaulting them.

"Akoch has cancelled his studies at TMU and informed officials that he has shifted to Ghaziabad for studies. He has informed officials that he will be living at Niti Khand, Indirapuram in Ghaziabad," said local intelligence unit inspector S S Gaur.

According to sources, Akoch had been scared about further racist attacks on him. "He is free to leave and choose any institution he likes, but we have informed him that he will have to appear in court during the trial of the case," Gaur added.

Akoch and Monytong, who were injured and had to be treated in hospital, had alleged that they had been repeatedly targeted for being black and had been harassed for more than a month before the attack. Police, while denying that it was a racist attack, had registered an FIR and arrested three persons. While one of them, Furqan, was a local resident, Mahesh Gangwar was a first year BCA student from Bareilly and Parveen Singh a BTech third year student from Sambhal.

The two South Sudanese youths had also registered a complaint with their country's embassy in New Delhi. University officials had declined to comment in the aftermath of the attack, pointing out that the incident had occurred outside the campus and an FIR had been filed against the alleged assailants.