Sudanese Student Killed in India Protecting Women; Six Suspects Arrested
Mohammad Wada Bala Yousuf Ahmed
A 24-year-old Sudanese student was stabbed to death, and another critically injured, by Indian assailants on Thursday, 15 May 2025, in Maheru village in Phagwara, Punjab, a state in northwestern India.
In Phagwara India a Sudanese student Mohammad Wada was murdered by UP and Bihar students. Mohammad defended his female colleagues who were being molested pic.twitter.com/8rMwfpnFZP
— Crime Reports India (@AsianDigest) May 18, 2025
The victims have been identified as Mohammad Wada Bala Yousuf Ahmed, who was fatally stabbed, and Ahmed Mohammad Nour Ahmed Hussen, who sustained critical injuries. According to the Satnampura police and a statement from Ahmed Hussen, he and Yousuf Ahmed were returning from Fajr (sunrise) prayers at a local mosque around 4 am, accompanied by three Sudanese female students. They were stopped by a group of six to eight Indian men who allegedly began harassing the women and demanding their mobile phone numbers. When the two Sudanese men intervened to protect the women, two of the assailants reportedly drew knives and attacked, fatally stabbing Yousuf Ahmed.
The incident occurred in the Green Valley locality in Maheru village, a residential area known for housing international students. Both the victims and the accused were staying in guest accommodations near the campus of Lovely Professional University (LPU), where the Sudanese victims were enrolled as current or former students.
Indian news sources report that police have arrested six of the eight suspects, including the two main attackers. Although Ahmed Hussen initially stated there were six assailants, police — aided by CCTV footage and other technical evidence — identified two additional suspects: Vikas Bawa and Abhay Raj. Raj has been named as the primary suspect responsible for the fatal stabbing. The other arrested individuals are Yash Vardhan, Mohammad Shoaib, and Aditya Garg.
Many Sudanese and South Sudanese students travel to India to pursue higher education. However, there have been several incidents in which students have been attacked, and in some cases, killed. In 2019, a 29-year-old South Sudanese student was stabbed by unknown assailants in Bangalore. Others have lost their lives in car accidents.
