Indian authorities on Tuesday ordered an investigation into a mob attack on several African students near New Delhi, a crime for which seven people have been arrested.

The incident occurred in the Delhi suburb of Noida late Monday when locals staging a protest about the death of a teenage boy turned violent, leading to attacks on African students, mostly Nigerians, shopping in the area.

The attackers alleged the dead boy, Manish Khari, 16, was drugged by Africans who live in the area. He died of a cardiac arrest on the weekend after a suspected drug overdose.

Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj promised “immediate action” after a Nigerian student begged her for help, saying living in the area had become a “life-threatening issue”.

“I have spoken to Yogi Adityanath, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh about the attack.

"He has assured that there will be fair and impartial investigation into this unfortunate incident,” she said on Twitter, referring to the state in which the incident occurred.

Noida police chief Dharmendra Singh said four Nigerians were admitted to hospitals and seven locals were

arrested for the mob violence.

“Some people tried to give the incident a racial twist and there has been hate-mongering over the social media.

Three hundred people are listed in the police complaint and more arrests are likely soon in raids,” he said.

Attacks on Africans have been reported at regular intervals in India in recent years.

Last May, a Congolese student was beaten to death in Delhi.

Earlier, a Tanzanian student was attacked and partially stripped by a mob in the city of Bangalore.