Miscreants were riled for being advised by her to drive safe after accident

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After coming to India and learning about attacks on African students in Bengaluru, 29-year-old Himaya from Kenya, pursuing her graduation at a college in Yelahanka, was extremely cautious. She even hired a trusted auto driver to ferry her to around. Despite this, she got entangled in a road rage case where she was abused by three men in another auto.

The victim, a resident of Kalyan Nagar, came to India two years back on a student visa. She stays with her younger sister, who is also a student. Since the area where she resides has witnessed attacks on African nationals, she exercised caution. She met Gaja Rao, an auto driver from Channasandra, with whom she felt safe while travelling.

She requested him to help her on her daily commutes to college and back. Rao agreed to ferry her elsewhere too; all she needed to do was to call him on his mobile.

Read Also: Tanzanian Girl Stripped, Paraded Naked In Bengaluru After Woman Was Ran Over By A Sudanese Man

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Badly hurt

Around 11.30 pm last Thursday, she was in the auto with Rao, commuting to a hotel on Kammanahalli Road. In an attempt to overtake their vehicle, an autorickshaw that was trailing behind, rammed into their auto. Himaya fell down and hurt her hand badly. She asked the driver in the other auto to drive safe, but he and two others allegedly abused and misbehaved with her. "They even attacked Rao and threatened Himaya with dire consequences when she told them she would be reporting the matter to the police," said an officer, who is part of the investigations.

Rao and Himaya reached the police station and filed a complaint. A case under section 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered. However, neither of the two victims were able to note down the other auto's registration number, said the Banaswadi police, who is investigating the case.

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"Strangely, after registering the case, neither the woman nor the driver is responding to our calls regarding the investigations. Since both are ignoring the calls, it appears that the woman is not interested in pursuing the case further," the officer added.

Repeated attempts to get the versions of both victims failed as they did not answer BM's calls either. Further investigations are on.

Read Also: The Tanzanian Girl Talks About The Racist Attack On Her In Bengaluru & It'll Give You Goosebumps

Previous attacks on foreigners in city

May 2016: A 30-year-old African national, Covulibaly, was beaten by a group of unidentified people near Hennur Bande in Banaswadi mistaking him for a thief. The victom was walking back home when the miscreants intercepted him calling him a thief. When he began to run for safety, he was assaulted. He was later admitted to a private hospital for treatment.

February 2016: A 21-year-old student from Tanzania and her four friends were beaten in Soladevanahally police limits. The student, pursuing her graduation, was beaten in a mistaken identity following a road accident in which another African national had run over a woman killing her on the spot. This incident which took a racist turn angered the entire African community staying in the city.

March 2015: A few locals from Chikkabanavara near Kothanur assaulted four African students accusing them of spoiling peace in the area.

March 2015: Nearly six Africans staying at Byrati near Hennur were attacked with bottles by a group of over 20 people. The miscreants alleged that the foreigners were creating a ruckus in the area and hence attacked them. Police personnel who tried to rescue the victims were also injured.