GURGAON, Oct 16 (Agencies) : Two young men from Nagaland, both in their 20s, were hospitalized this morning after they were allegedly beaten for nearly three hours in the room they were renting in a village in Gurgaon near Delhi.

Awang and Chester say a group of at least seven people burst into their room and hit them repeatedly with cricket bats and sticks from midnight to 3 am. Chester says he was pinned down while his head was shaved by the gang. He claims that before leaving, the assaulters warned, "Tell your North East people to leave Sikanderpur."

The police says it has filed a case and Awang and Chester are helping identify their attackers.

Sikanderpur, which is nearly a kilometre away from the large malls in Gurgaon, is home to many North Easterners. One of them, a man named Li Hangshing - in his early 30s - told NDTV that meetings were held by landlords in the area over two months ago and it was decided that tenants from the North East will be asked to move out. Locals allege that people from the North East get drunk and cause trouble in the area.