6-yr-old Indian-origin girl, hotel worker attacked in Ireland

An Indian-origin nurse who has been working in Ireland for eight years is distraught after her six-year-old daughter was attacked by a group of boys while she played outside her home in the city of Waterford.

Anupa Achuthan, originally from Kerala and now an Irish citizen, says her Ireland-born daughter Nia Naveen was assaulted and told to “go back to India” in an attack earlier this week.

It comes as Irish Police (Gardai) said investigations are ongoing into the incident as well as an Indian-origin hotel worker targeted in a violent robbery in the capital Dublin.

“One of her friends said a gang of boys older than them hit her on the private parts with a cycle, and five of them punched her on her face... They said the F word and ‘Dirty Indian, go back to India’,” Achuthan told the Irish Mirror, recounting the attack which occurred on Monday evening.

Her daughter later told her that the boys, aged between eight and 14, punched her neck and twisted her hair.

“I feel so sad for her. I could not protect her. I never expected that such an incident would happen. I thought she would be safe here,” said Achuthan.

The nurse had moved from Dublin to a new Waterford home with her husband, daughter and 10-month-old boy earlier this year.

On Wednesday morning, an Indian-origin man employed at a hotel in Dublin was attacked by three suspects. His phone and electric bike were stolen. He was taken to the city’s St Vincent’s University Hospital with injuries sustained in the attack.

Local police said they were looking into these reports, with Indian community groups in Ireland expressing concern at the lack of arrests following a recent spate of attacks on people of Indian heritage.

Earlier, violent assaults involving Lakhvir Singh, a taxi driver in his 40s, and entrepreneur and AI expert Dr Santosh Yadav followed an Indian Embassy advisory urging Indian citizens to take safety precautions.

“There has been an increase in the instances of physical attacks reported against Indian citizens in Ireland recently. The embassy is in touch with the authorities concerned in Ireland in this regard. At the same time, all Indian citizens in Ireland are advised to take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially in odd hours,” reads the advisory.