Goa Tourism Minister for stringent law to deport Nigerians

Panaji: Claiming that Nigerians come in conflict with Indian law and indulge in drugs and other criminal activities, Goa Tourism MinisterDilip Parulekar on Monday sought for stringent laws to deport Nigerians.

"The Nigerians come in conflict with Indian law so as to extend their stay and indulge in drugs and other crimes. We should have a strict law where we can deport them. The blacklisted people need to be sent back to their countries, but unfortunately there is no such law in India at the moment," Parulekar told the reporters here.

"Goa and India doesn't have law against illegal international residents in India. There should be a deportation law," he added.

"They come to Goa and India to study, they get an FIR filed (against them), make it a judicial matter and then try to stay in India or Goa and indulge in drugs and other unwanted things," Parulekar said.

Meanwhile, President Pranab Mukherjee expressed "deep" concern over attacks on African nationals here, saying it is "not tolerable" as India's relationship with African countries is close, and always we considered.

Speaking at a function here President Mukherjee said it is not tolerable, and wondered why Africans are feeling unsafe in India.

"Mahatma Gandhi made his experiment of 'Satyagraha' on the soils of Africa; he transformed our country. Therefore, how can we tolerate this? How can we even comprehend it? Should Africans not feel safe in India," asked the President.

Earlier, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju dubbed the recent attacks on African nationals of South Delhi as 'unfortunate'.

Rijiju said the government will try its best to avoid such episodes in the future.

"After what has happened with the African students in Delhi, we are holding regular meetings to come up with ways to sensitize the local populace," Rijiju said.

"Arrests have already been made and the foreign ministry is also looking into the matter along with us. I also had a meeting with the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to discuss the same," he added.

A week after the killing of a Congolese man in the national capital that stirred a diplomatic row and instigated violence against Indians in Congo, four attacks on African nationals by the residents in Chattarpur were reported on Friday.

Five people were arrested by the Delhi Police in connection with the four attack incidents on the African nationals on Sunday. The African nationals had sustained minor injuries in the attack that took place in South Delhi's Mehrauli area on Friday.

The accused have been arrested are identified as- Babu (32), Kunal (20), Om Prakash (24), Rahul alias Rocky (24) and Ajay (25). The police are carrying out search operations to nab the other accused persons. On Sunday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj spoke to Rajnath Singh and Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung about the attacks and said she was assured that the culprits would soon be arrested.