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Racial attacks on Indian in Australia

UPDATED: BY NRIpress.com

 

India airs 'absolute displeasure' over Australia attacks 

Sydney, Jan 15, 2010
Surjeet Singh

 

New Delhi, Jan 15 (IANS) Under fire from the opposition over continuing attacks on Indian students in Australia, the government Friday said it was doing its "utmost" to convey "absolute displeasure and concern" to Canberra and the situation was being monitored on daily basis.

"We are doing our utmost to register our absolute displeasure and concern about what is happening to our citizens in Australia," Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.  
 
"I think almost on a daily basis the situation is being monitored," the minister said when asked about the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) criticism that the government was not doing enough for the security of Indian students in Australia.  
 
"It is very unfortunate that even this morning it has come to light, as you are saying, that a cab driver has been assaulted," she said alluding to Friday's assault on an Indian cab driver by allegedly drunk passengers in Melbourne.  
 
On the fire at an under-construction gurdwara in Melbourne early this week, she said: "The incident of the arson at the gurdwara was very unfortunate."  
 
"We can only hope that Australia does get its act together like they are telling us, and they get the perpetrators and bring them to book, and they are punished," Kaur added.  
 
Canberra again underlined its determination to punish those involved in attacks on Indian students.  
 
Australian High Commissioner Peter Varghese Friday said his government was determined to take action against those involved in attacks on Indian nationals but said it was not right to draw hasty conclusions on the motives behind the violence.  
 
"A total of 34 people have been arrested so far in connection with cases involving Indians in Victoria alone," Varghese said in a statement.  
 
"Some cases have been finalised by the courts, leading to stiff sentences. For example, three men found guilty of attacking Indian-born doctor Mukesh Haikerwal were sentenced to eight-and-half, sixteen-and-half and nine years in jail respectively in November 2009."  
 
There have been a string of attacks on Indians in Australia, triggering an outcry in India and forcing the Indian government to issue an advisory to students studying Down Under.  
 
Two attacks proved fatal. The body of Ranjodh Singh, an Indian-born seasonal work contractor, was found dead Dec 29. Accountancy graduate Nitin Garg was fatally stabbed in Melbourne Jan 2.  
 
An Indian was set on fire in Melbourne Jan 9 while another Indian was assaulted at Coogee beach in Sydney Jan 11.

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 Australia determined to act on attacks, says envoy

New Delhi, Jan 15

Australian High Commissioner Peter Varghese Friday said his government was determined to take action against those involved in attacks on Indian nationals but said it was not right to draw hasty conclusions on the motives behind the violence.

"A total of 34 people have been arrested so far in connection with cases involving Indians in Victoria alone," Varghese said in a statement.  
 
"Some cases have been finalised by the courts, leading to stiff sentences. For example, three men found guilty of attacking Indian-born doctor Mukesh Haikerwal were sentenced to eight-and-half, sixteen-and-half and nine years in jail respectively in November 2009."  
 
There have been a string of attacks on Indians in Australia, causing an outcry in India and forcing the Indian government to issue an advisory to students studying Down Under.  
 
Two attacks proved fatal. The body of Ranjodh Singh, an Indian-born seasonal work contractor, was found Dec 29. Accountancy graduate Nitin Garg was fatally stabbed in Melbourne Jan 2.  
 
An Indian was set on fire in Melbourne Jan 9 while another Indian was assaulted at Coogee beach in Sydney Jan 11.  
 
"It is important not to jump to conclusions about the motives of an attack or to take initial media reports as fact," Varghese said, reaffirming the importance of allowing police investigations to run their course.  
 
Detailing the progress in some of the probes, Varghese said claims that the burnt body of Ranjodh Singh found in Griffith was a racial attack should be treated with caution.  
 
"The two persons detained by New SouthWales police in relation to this appalling incident were in fact Indian nationals.  
 
"Similarly, it is far from certain that the reported burning of Jaspreet Singh in Melbourne Jan 9 was an attack.  
 
"In all these cases, it is important to let the investigation establish the facts and then allow the criminal justice system to reach a view on the motives and the appropriate punishment."  
 
An Australian court Friday sentenced a man who had attacked an Indian taxi driver in Ballarat, Victoria, to three months in jail.  
 
"The speedy justice provided in this case shows the Australian government's seriousness in ensuring that high levels of safety and security for all are maintained," Varghese said. "The verdict has come out within 24 hours of the incident."  
 
According to the Australian High Commission, police investigation into the death of Nitin Garg in Melbourne were continuing and authorities were treating the case as a matter of highest priority.

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Indian attacked in Australia, protest in Delhi over gurdwara fire

Indian attacked in Australia, protest in Delhi over gurdwara fire

Melbourne/New Delhi, Jan 15 (IANS) An Indian taxi driver was assaulted Friday in Australia's Ballarat city, the latest in a string of attacks against Indians. The attacker was detained and sentenced to three months' in jail. New Delhi, meanwhile, saw a protest against a fire at a gurdwara in Melbourne.

The taxi driver, 24, was verbally abused by a passenger in Ballarat in Victoria province. The driver tried to take refuge at a service station at about 2 a.m. The passenger then followed the driver into the service station and allegedly assaulted him.  
 
Ballarat Magistrate's Court in Victoria sentenced to prison term 48-year-old Paul Brogden, who pleaded guilty to charges of making threats to kill, unlawful assault and criminal damage.  
 
ABC Online reported that Magistrate Michelle Hodgson sentenced Brogden to three months' jail for each charge, to be served concurrently.  
 
He has also been ordered to pay more than $1,500 compensation to the victim.  
 
Ballarat Taxi Co-operative chairman Stephen Armstrong said: "It's just sad that a guy's out there going about his business, providing a service for the patrons of Ballarat, and has to suffer that kind of verbal abuse and physical abuse just going about the course of his duties."  
 
There have been a string of attacks on Indians in Australia, causing an outcry in India.  
 
Two of the vicious attacks proved fatal. While Ranjodh Singh's body was found Dec 29, another Indian, Nitin Garg, was fatally stabbed in Melbourne Jan 2. An Indian was set on fire in Melbourne Jan 9 while another Indian was assaulted at Coogee beach in Sydney Jan 11.  
 
The attacks also include a fire Wednesday at a gurdwara under construction close to Melbourne.  
 
The attack on the Melbourne gurdwara had a resonance in Delhi.  
 
A group of Sikh protesters strongly condemned the attacks on Indians in Australia.  
 
They carried placards denouncing the attacks. A placard said "Stop racial abuse" while another read "Down with Aussie violence".  
 
They submitted a memorandum at the Australian high commission.  
 
The blaze broke out in the Nanaksar Taath gurdwara complex Wednesday late night. The gurdwara is located in the southeastern suburb of Cranbourne, about an hour's drive from Melbourne's city centre.  
 
The Indian government Thursday said it was in touch with the Australian authorities over the incident.  
 
"Our consulate in Melbourne is in the process of ascertaining details from the Gurdwara Management Committee and also following up on the incident with Australian authorities," external affairs ministry spokesperson Vishnu Prakash had told reporters in New Delhi.  
 
"It is learnt that some unidentified miscreants had set fire at the construction site, which is located about 300-odd metres from the Nanaksar Taath Gurdwara," he said.  
 
Parkash Singh Badal, chief minister of the Indian state of Punjab, Wednesday strongly condemned the alleged torching, saying he will take up the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.  
 
Badal linked the torching bid to the recent incidents of alleged "racial discrimination" against Indians in Australia.