Indian dies after racial attack in London

An elderly man of Indian origin succumbed to his injuries on Monday, a week after a shocking race attack by a gang of schoolboys outside a mosque in south London. The attack took place when Kolkata-born Ekram ul Haque, 67, was battered to the ground in front of his five-year-old grand-daughter, while he was returning from a local mosque on August 31.

"Ekram ul Haque died today. We are treating it as a murder investigation. The post-mortem report is expected soon," a Scotland Yard spokesperson said.

"Five youths have been taken into custody in connection with the attack," the spokesperson said, adding that they will be produced in a Sutton youth court.

The attackers, who were black and wore hooded tops, are believed to be as young as 12, according to a media report. Three teenaged boys have been charged with assaulting Haque and a man in his 40s near Tooting, an area dominated by Asians. The victim's grand-daughter Marian, who was unhurt in the incident, gave a detailed account of the attack. Police have also sought the help of eye witnesses.

Scotland Yard on Monday said the assault was being treated as 'racially motivated'. Haque moved to Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, in 1972. He met his wife there and the couple moved to London in the early 1980s.

He worked in the textile industry but later became a warden in a home for the disabled from which he retired last year. Haque's 35-year-old son described the attack as 'mindless violence'.