An unnamed Nigeria has reportedly died after he was allegedly assaulted by a police officer in Delhi, India on Sunday morning.

According to HindustanTimes, following the death, tensions persisted in the area as a crowd gathered outside the Tilak Nagar Police Station. Police personnel in large numbers have been deployed to control the situation.

Reports said the deceased’s family alleged that he died from an injury the police officer inflicted on him with a lathi (baton).

Lathi, according to Merriam Webster dictionary, is a heavy stick often of bamboo bound with iron used in India as a weapon especially by police (as in dispersing a crowd or quelling a riot).

“Today morning, a Nigerian national was brought dead to DDU Hospital at around 3:30 am. The victim used to live in Tilak Nagar. Two other Nigerian nationals who were with him alleged that he died because of a lathi injury on his head,” HindustanTimes quoted the police as saying.

“Earlier today, 3 Nigerian citizens were stopped by Delhi Police officials for verification in the Tilak Nagar area. While being asked to show their ID proof, the three immediately ran away and the policemen ran after them. Their families later alleged that he died because of a lathi injury,” the police added.

The Delhi Police is examining the CCTV footage and the actual cause of death after the postmortem report.