Malaysian police today rounded up around 270 Indians, including many IT professionals, and allegedly defaced their passports, slapped and kicked several of them before releasing all but five later. Police carried out a dawn swoop in search of illegal immigrants on one high-rise apartment building in the ethnic Indian dominated neighbourhood of Brickfields in central Kuala Lumpur. ‘‘There were around 270 of us, and we have already got the signatures of 178, and we’ll get the rest by tomorrow,’’ said Dilip, an IT professional, who presented a petition to the Indian High Commission on behalf of all those detained after being released tonight. A Malaysian police officer had earlier said that some 164 Indians had been picked up from the raid on one building adding they were released following the intervention of Indian High Commission and proof that they had valid visas. ‘‘This has been a black day for all of us,’’ Indian High Commissioner Veena Sikri told the detainees after their release. ‘‘We will get to the bottom of the issue.’’ Several Indians showed their passports, pointing out that their visas had been scratched. Some said they were ordered to do sit-ups, while others said they were stripped to their underwear, slapped and kicked inside the station. (PTI)
