From left Deepak Bhatt, Uday Kusupati and Akshit Goyal while in Italy.

In a letter addressed to the Indian Embassy, three IITians – Uday Kusupati of IIT Bombay, and Akshit Goyal and Deepak Bhatt of IIT Delhi – have urged the Indian authorities take up the matter with their Italian counterparts over the alleged act of racism by the Italian Police. They have sought strong actions against the erring officers. The students were detained in Italy, while en route for their Internship at Inria Sophia Antipolis, France. 

The students have taken to social media to draw the attention of Sushma Swaraj, the Minister of External Affairs, and the PMO to their ordeal in Italy. They have claimed that their detention and passport verification was an act of racial profiling. Though the matter has been settled and the students have been released, the students are still not satisfied.

The students claim that their message has not reached the authorities yet. “We are trying to get in touch with the Indian authorities through social media, but I don’t see that happening as of now. We want to get some assurance regarding our safety so that this sort of incident doesn’t happen in future,” said Akshit Goyal, the sophomore from IIT Delhi.

Vikas Swarup, the spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs, said that the Indian Embassy has taken up the issue with the Italian authorities, and they have admitted their mistake in detaining the three students.