Amid growing outrage over the assault on a Tanzanian woman in Bengaluru on Sunday, the Karnataka state government on Thursday appeared to take serious note of the incident, with both the chief minister and the home minister issuing statements on the matter. Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah condemned the incident and sought a report from the Bengaluru police over allegations of delay in registering a police case. However, home minister G Parameshwara said that there was no delay on the part of the police. “This was definitely not a racial attack. This was a response to an accident…Bengaluru does not have this kind of attitude. Sometimes foreign students overstay even when their passports have expired. We will pursue such cases.” He also denied that the woman was paraded naked. Earlier, speaking to mediapersons, the Tanzanian envoy to India had said that the incident was a racial attack. Stating that the government has instituted an inquiry into the matter, Parameshwara said that the police would take ‘strict action’ against the accused. “If there are lapses on the part of the police officers, we will definitely take action against them,” he said. Parameshwara also told the media that the chief minister has briefed external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj about the matter. Meanwhile, the Union Home Minister has also asked for a report from the Karnataka government on the assault, CNN-IBN reported. The woman’s friends told police that on Sunday the furious mob had pulled them out of their car, assaulted them and molested her in which her clothes were torn. Earlier on Wednesday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj described the attack as “shameful” and expressed deep pain over the Sunday incident on microblogging site Twitter. The minister sought a report from the Karnataka government and asked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to ensure safety of foreign students. Earlier, police had launched a manhunt for suspects who allegedly assaulted the 20-year-old following a road accident, a top police official told PTI. “We have registered a case of riot and arson against the accused on victim’s statement in which she reported of being assaulted in a mistaken identity by a mob on the outskirts of the city,” city police commissioner N S Megharik told reporters in Bengaluru on Wednesday. With inputs from IANS