CM defends Bengaluru police's action on protesting Africans

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday defended the state police’s action on some Africans staging a protest in Bengaluru.

They were staging a protest following the alleged custodial death of an African, who, the Bengaluru Police said, was detained for possessing five gms of ecstasy pills.

Police said they had to lathicharge some of the protesters.

Asked about the lathicharge, Bommai said Africans are in huge numbers in the state. Many are overstaying and the state government is taking strict action against such individuals, he said.

”Since there is drug trafficking in a big way, we are arresting them. They had a violent attitude and therefore, police action was taken. When they needlessly attacked the police, our police took action in the right manner,” he said.

The state government has taken several measures in the last two years against drug trafficking, Bommai added.

The chief minister was in Delhi to discuss the expansion of his cabinet with the BJP leadership.

According to the police, the detained African while in custody he complained of chest pain and cold.

The police said they took the foreigner, who was studying in college, to a hospital where he died of a suspected cardiac arrest.

They said it was not a case of custodial death.