India condemns misbehaviour with Ugandan nationals and promises action

India on Saturday "utterly condemned" the alleged misbehaviour with some Ugandan nationals in the capital by a Delhi minister and his party volunteers and promised "appropriate action" in the matter.

New Delhi's stand on the matter was conveyed to the African envoys from 20 countries by Dinkar Khullar, secretary (West) in the ministry of external affairs, who held a meeting with them in south block.

Khullar said the incident was "utterly condemnable" and "cannot be condoned". He also assured the African envoys that there was no deliberate targeting of the nationals of any country and "should remain an aberration."

He also assured them that the Indian government will take "appropriate action".

The ambassadors of the African countries were called for a meeting following concerns expressed by them over the alleged manhandling of some African nationals Thursday in south Delhi's Khirki Extension after Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti alleged they were part of a "drug and prostitution den".

Khullar also informed the envoys that the law and order authorities are "deploying extra patrols so that life and property of all residents of Delhi, including foreign nationals, will be safeguarded and a single point office of the Police Commissioner is to be established, specifically for complaints from foreign nationals."

After the meeting, the Deputy Dean of the African group in India and Ethiopian Ambassador to India Gennet Zewide said the attack was an aberration. She also said that she did not feel it was a racial attack.

She was talking about the past midnight raid by Bharti and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) cadres Thursday on the residences of African nationals.

Four women from Uganda Friday filed a complaint with Delhi Police alleging they were molested by a group of Bharti's supporters and one of them said she was forced to give a urine sample by the men in public.