New Delhi: There is no lull in the racial attacks on Indian student in Australia.
In yet another case of violence towards the Indian community, Rajesh Kumar, a student suffered 30 per cent burns on Tuesday after a suspected petrol bomb was hurled at him in home in Harris Park in Sydney, Australia.
As Rajesh battled the fire, his flatmate grabbed a blanket and covered him with it.
Neighbours say an unidentified person threw what looked like a small petrol bomb at Rajesh who was sitting on his bed in the front room of his rented house.
His flatmate Arminder Singh said he saw Kumar run out of his bedroom and out of the front door with his back and arms on fire.
India’s Counsel General in Sydney, Amit Dasgupta, has expressed serious concern over the growing incidents of violence towards the Indian community.
On Thursday, another Indian student, Baljinder Singh, was robbed and stabbed in Melbourne even as he pleaded with his attackers to spare his life.
Constable Darrell Allen stated that Baljinder Singh's attack was not racially motivated but it was an opportunistic crime.
"We fear that if we don't act quickly and get the publics assistance there will be further attacks in the future. I don't think it's racially motivated. It's an opportunistic crime and it's of great concern," said Allen.
ABC News correspondent Lisa Maksimovic told CNN-IBN from Melbourne that the police are investigating the cases and some arrests, too, have been made.
"Victoria Police have set up a task fore in Melbourne western suburbs. They have made two arrests this week in the case of the 21-year-old who was attacked on the train and they are expected to make more arrests. Police believe the attacks are opportunistic as Indian students travel alone at odd hours because of their work and study requirements," said.
The Indian government has also been closely monitoring all the happenings in Australia, said External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and added that they will make sure that Indians in Australia are given protection.
"We are monitoring the situation very closely in Australia. We are made to understand that someone has been arrested. Indians and particularly students will be given protection. We will wait and watch as the government (Australian government) has given assurances," said Krishna.
In the past one month there have been four attacks on Indian students.
While Rajesh Kumar suffered 30 per cent burns after a suspected petrol bomb was hurled at him in home in Harris Park on Tuesday night, 25-year-old Baljinder Singh was reportedly robbed and stabbed in Melbourne on May 25. Singh has now been released from the hospital.
In other shocking incident 21-year-old Shravan Kumar and his three Indian friends being brutally attacked with screwdrivers by a group of drunk teenagers, who gatecrashed their party. Shravan is now battling severe brain injury at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
On May 9, 21-year-old Sourabh Sharma was attacked by a group of teenagers.
The Australian authorities want to take strict action against the attackers because an estimated 95,000 Indians were studying in Australia last year, 54 per cent more when compared with 2007.
Indian students make up 18 per cent of Australia's total foreign student population, the second largest group after the Chinese.
Australian Police says they have recorded 500 cases of assault on Indian students between October 2008 and March 2009.
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