In yet another attack on an Indian in Australia, a 29-year-old man was set on fire by a group of four assailants here, drawing strong condemnation from a student body which called such assaults unacceptable and asked authorities not to “dodge” the issue.
Jaspreet Singh was attacked in Essendon area of northwest Melbourne shortly before 2.00 am local time (7.30 am India time ), a week after an Indian student was stabbed to death. There have been a series of attacks on Indians in Australia.
Singh, who suffered 20 per cent burns, including on his arms, chest and face, was admitted to ‘The Alfred’ hospital.
Singh and his wife left a dinner party in Essendon in the city’s northwest between 1.30 am and 2 am and drove to their nearby home in Grice Crescent. He dropped his wife at home and had gone to park his car when he was attacked, local media reported.
Police said as he was getting out of the car, four men attacked him, pushing him back against the vehicle and pouring an unidentified fluid on him. One of the men then ignited the fluid with a lighter before all the attackers fled.
The victim, who is now in a stable condition in the hospital, ran from the car while peeling off his clothes.
Denying any racial angle to the attack, detective acting senior sergeant Neil Smyth said it was not yet known who the four men could be or their relationship with the victim. He said investigations indicated the attack was random.
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“It’s unlikely to be a racially-motivated incident considering its timing and the nature. It’s highly unlikely anyone could have targeted the victim in these circumstances,” Smyth said.
The incident is being investigated by the arson and explosives squad of police.
Police appealed for public assistance to locate the victim’s clothes, which he shed as he fled the scene.
Singh’s friends said he had been living in the city on a spouse visa.
Meanwhile, Gautam Gupta, president of the Federation of Indian Students of Australia (FISA), said such attacks were unacceptable and the federal government must act.
“We are extremely disturbed, we have contacted the prime minister’s office and have suggested that it intervene. It’s high time that it intervene,” he said. “How many times are they going to just dodge this issue.”
Australian Deputy Premier Julia Gillard condemned the attack on Singh, saying the “matter remains under investigation by the Victorian police and the government would not comment further until police provide more information”.
“The government condemns such acts of violence in the strongest way,” she said.
The attack comes a week after the stabbing of 21-year-old Indian graduate Nitin Garg in a Yarraville park while he was on his way to his part-time job in a restaurant.
The body of another Indian youth, 25-year-old Ranjodh Singh, was found beside Wilga Road in Willbriggie in the neighbouring state of New South Wales on December 29.