New Delhi, July 6
The External Affairs Ministry has taken up the case of Burundi student Yannick, who was severly beaten up in Jalandhar three months ago and has since been in coma, with the Punjab Government.

Burundi Ambassador to India Rubuka Aloys today met M Ganapathy, Secretary (West) in the External Affairs Ministry and sought the Central Government's intervention in flying Yannick back to his country in Africa.

Syed Akbaruddin, MEA spokesman, said Yannick's father Nestor Ntibateganya had written to the ministry two days back, seeking its assistance in the matter. The Burundi envoy's meeting with the MEA official was in response to the letter. ''We will see what assistance can be provided to the victim,'' he said.

The Burundi envoy told the media that he was hopeful that India would provide the necessary assistance to the family. He said he had briefed Ganapathy about the family's demands. ''The MEA will see in which sector it can help the family... the family needs assistance for transporting Yannick to Burundi. The local government will also have to assist the family.''

Sources, meanwhile, said there was no provision under which the Indian Government could airlift Yannick back to Burundi in Africa. ''Financial assistance does not mean an air ticket but hiring an aircraft since Yannick is in coma...it will take some time to settle the issue.''

Jalandhar, July 6
The police has stepped up efforts to arrest the third accused in the case of assault on a foreign student of Lovely Professional University. It took an appeal by Nestor Ntibateganya, the father of the victim, yesterday seeking the state Chief Minister’s intervention in the case of assault on his son Yannick Nizhanga, who hails from Burundi, which made the Jalandhar Commissionerate police conduct raids to arrest the third accused.

Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal asked the Chief Secretary maintain contact with Nestor to provide all possible help. The Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Sarabjit Singh, said he had directed his subordinates to conduct more raids at his possible hideouts to nab the absconding accused Aman Deep Singh, a resident of local Mota Singh Nagar.

Sarabjit Singh said the two accused Sahil Deep Singh of Mota Singh Nagar and Sumit Bunny of Jawahar Nagar had already been arrested and are lodged at modern jail at Kapurthala. The police has filed a charge sheet in this regard, he added.

A first-year student of BSc (Computers) course at Lovely Professional University, Yannick Nizhanga, 24, was brutally beaten up by a group of youths, who were allegedly under the influence of alcohol, outside his rented accommodation in Dashmesh Nagar locality here on the night of April 21. He was celebrating the birthday of his fellow student, Astro.