An Indian bluecollar worker in France, allegedly an illegal immmigrant, became the unlikely hero of the French people after he was killed on September 29 for intervening in a mugging attempt in the Paris Metro. Rajinder Singh, who went by the nickname Babu, was electrocuted after he was pushed on to the electric tracks from the platform at the Crimee metro station by the mugger.

Babu, according to a report in Le Parisien, had stopped Mohammed F, believed to be of Egyptian origin, from snatching a woman passenger's purse and laptop on a train. The mugger dragged Babu on to the platform where they got into a fight during which he pushed the Indian on to the tracks. City police later arrested Mohammed from a northern suburb of the French capital.

Babu had left his village in Hoshirapur district of Punjab, armed only with a highschool education over seven years ago. He worked as a newspaper delivery man, sending part of his income home. He had recently taken up a second job, dropping advertisements in letterboxesd, to fund his sister's wedding.

Media reports of Babu's heroic act have triggered outpourings of sympathy and eulogies from the French public. Thosands have left comment on an online report of the Le Parisien and a Facebook post on the death. This comes in the midst of a crackdown on 'street crime' launched by the Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative government in view of the elections in April 2012. Under the Sarkozy administration's crackdown on illegal immigration, cases of expulsion of 'aliens' have risen. The authorities are also imposing stricter penalties on people hawking on the streets without permits. Though Babu's death and the popular sentiment over it are unlikely to impact the country's policy on illegal immigration, it will, very likely, spur a debate on the subject.