Indian-origin teen among 3 killed in UK knife attack
Darpan News Desk IANS, 14 Jun, 2023 03:49 PM
London, June 14 (IANS) A 19-year-old Indian-origin student was among three persons who lost their lives due to stabbing incident in England's Nottingham city.
The incident took place in the early hours of Tuesday.
Grace Kumar from London and fellow student Barnaby Webber were on way back home from a night out when they were stabbed to death at 4 a.m. on Ilkeston Road, the Evening Standard reported.
They were heard screaming for help after they were attacked as they walked back to student halls after a night out, the report said.
Kumar played for the England under-16 and under-18 squads, as well as teams including Southgate Hockey Club in north London.
She was also a gifted cricketer, with Woodford Wells Cricket Club, in Essex.
The club called the teenager "fun, friendly and brilliant".
Kumar, also known as Grace O'Malley-Kumar, attended independent Bancroft's School in north-east London before the University of Nottingham.
Her father is thought to be Sanjoy Kumar, a doctor who saved three teenage victims of a knife attack in 2009, the Evening Standard reported.
Nottinghamshire Police said they were called to Ilkeston Road at around 4 a.m., where Kumar and Webber were found dead in the street.
Officers were then called to another incident in Milton Street where a van had attempted to run over three people. They are currently being treated in hospital.
A man has also been found dead in Magdala Road.
Police have arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of murder and he remains in police custody.
Chief Constable Kate Meynell said: "This is an horrific and tragic incident which has claimed the lives of three people. We believe these three incidents are all linked and we have a man in custody. This investigation is at its early stages and a team of detectives is working to establish exactly what has happened."
The United Nations refugee agency said on Thursday that the situation was quickly deteriorating after Russia's invasion. It appealed to neighbouring countries to keep their borders open to people seeking a safe haven.
There are an estimated 25,000 Indian students in Ukraine alone who are pursuing medicine, engineering, and science courses. More than 2,500 students from Tamil Nadu are estimated to be studying in Ukraine.
The Foreign Secretary stated that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has spoken to his Polish, Romanian, Hungarian, and Slovakian counterparts for setting up a camp at border areas for evacuation of stranded Indian nationals. He also stated that flight options are available through Dubai and Istanbul and that the Indian Embassy continues to be operational in Ukraine.
The Ministry of External Affairs in touch with all the neighbouring countries surrounding Ukraine to even evacuate Indian citizens. Many citizens who were to fly back to India were left at the airport after closure of Ukrainian airspace following Russia's Vladimir Putin announcement of a military operation in Ukraine.
Amidst the prevailing tension, the Indian students stranded in Ukraine are left with no choice but to queue up outside the Indian Embassy in Kiev seeking the authorities' help as they ran out of food and money. The Russian military actions in Ukraine have triggered panic among all sections, including students from India.
Clashes have also been taking place around the capital Kiev in the north and the Black Sea port cities of Odesa and Mariupol in the south, the report said. Air strikes from Russia have been carried out on Ukrainian military bases and airports, with fierce fighting reported around a key airport near Kiev.
