Indian student attacked in Australian city

An Indian student in the Australian city of Melbourne has gone into coma after being brutally beaten up by a group of people, according to Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

The attack, reported by the media in India widely on Monday, occurred a day earlier at around 4.15 (Australian time). It is not immediately clear whether the attack was part of a robbery attempt or racially-motivated.

Reports, quoting agencies, said the 20-year-old Indian Manriajwinder Singh was studying a Bachelor of Commerce degree at a university in Melbourne and had been in Australia for a year.

A CCTV footage released by the police revealed that Singh was standing near a footpath with a friend at Birrarung Marr park when eight men of “African appearance and a fair-skinned woman” approached the two, reports said.

The apparent conversation turned into violence when one of the eight intruders kicked Singh on his jaw, causing him to fall, the reports said.

Soon, the others joined in, kicking and beating him unconscious, agencies said, quoting the CCTV. Singh is in hospital. His friend escaped with comparatively lesser injuries to his face, the reports said.

Singh’s brother Yadwinder Singh has demanded that the attackers be caught and punished so that others don’t get face a similar situation, said reports.

Some reports said there was a third person who managed to get away and inform the police.

In 2009, a series of attacks on Indian students in Australia led to an Indian government investigation which showed that out of 152 reported assaults that year, 23 involved “racial overtones”.