India | Updated Sep 26, 2006 at 01:28pm IST

Killed in Russia for being Indian

Bokaro/ Ranchi: The murder of the Indian medical student Nitesh Singh, who was stabbed to death in Russia's St Petersburg on Sunday, has sparked off protests by Indian students in Russia.

While his family is still in shock over his murder, there is speculation that Nitesh was the victim of a racial killing as his family says he had complained of racial abuse three years ago.

“Three years ago he had complained that Indian students were racially abused by the localites,” said his elder brother, Sitesh Singh.

Nitesh was studying medicine at the Mechanikova Medical Academy in Russia's St Petersburg.

He was brutally stabbed to death in front of his hostel by a gang on Sunday.

Nitesh was hoping to return home after finishing his studies in July next year.

Meanwhile, hundreds of students took to the streets of St Petersburg on Monday demanding a full investigation into Nitesh's murder.

The city's Deputy City Prosecutor Andrei Lavrynko has vowed to investigate the case.

Russia has been hit by a wave of race-related attacks and the protesting students say such incidents are particularly on the rise in St Petersburg.

(With inputs from Pallavi Basu)

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