Attacks on Indians in Australia - II

[Pintu]

Are Indians perceived as soft targets in Australia? - ET Cetera-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

Are Indians perceived as soft targets in Australia?
16 Jan 2010, 1032 hrs IST, IANS

NEW DELHI: Attacks on Indians in Australia continue to shock people back home, but many of those working or studying Down Under say these are not necessarily racial in nature and are the handiwork of criminal elements who try to find "soft targets".

Vishal Vaish, 27, who hails from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh and is the state manager of the company Giga Force in Melbourne, told IANS over phone from Melbourne, "I am not scared at all.

"I work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and hardly get time to interact with the general public. But still it depends on the situation and the kind of person you are, what sort of life you are living. Every ethnic group is in constant threat as far as anti-social elements are concerned.

"I have done my masters in business administration, specialising in international business from Central Queensland University, Melbourne international campus. This college operates on the basis of international students and there are roughly 2,500 students who study there.

"There are about 100,000 students in Melbourne with an Indian background and it is absolutely wrong to link these incidents with racial attacks. They are not racial in any way."

Since May last year, there has been a series of attacks on Indians, two of which were fatal. A fire in a Melbourne gurdwara and an assault on an Indian taxi driver in Ballarat as recently as this week have only added to the fears of Indians.

New Delhi has strongly condemned the attacks and asked the Australian authorities to probe the incidents and bring perpetrators to book. It has said that failure to ensure the security of Indian students could affect bilateral ties.

Vaish said, "I strongly feel some of us are being targeted because we are perceived as soft targets, which is directly or indirectly an impression created by us.

"Indian students studying in Melbourne work late night shifts on the side - something an average Australian will not do. I think conversation is also a big hurdle and the basic cause of every problem in Australia."

On whether Indians are able to voice their concern before the police, he said, "We are able to raise our voice before the police. But their being sensitive to our cause is a big question mark."

According to 25-year-old Swapnil Shah who hails from Dahod district in Gujarat and is pursuing a business networking course in Melbourne University, "Indian students studying in reputable universities such as Melbourne, Monash and La Trobe have had no problems.

"The problems are due to some people who migrate from India and are unable to converse in English. They behave the same way as they do in India - spit, shit and pee in public," Shah told IANS over phone.

"Melbourne can be a dangerous city at night when you are alone and taking a train late at night to the outer city on the metro. Most attacks are committed by thugs or drug addicts, not jealous local students.

"Indians come across as easier targets as most of the time they travel alone and do not hide valuable items since they think sporting gold chains and rings is a status symbol."

Though many Indian students in Australia claim that incidents of assault and mugging are not racial, 19-year-old Mukul Khanna who had gone to Macquarie University, Sydney, was called back by his worried parents in Gurgaon in April 2009.

Khanna had reason to be scared. He witnessed an assault up close. "My friend was working part-time as a salesman. One evening while he was returning from the shop, he was stopped by three people at the railway station. They asked him for money and when he resisted, they beat him up."

But he admits that the environment on the campus was fine. "At the university, you cannot imagine that this is happening outside," he said.

An Indian student, on condition of anonymity, said: "I don't know whether these attacks are related to race or not. But if they are racial, they need to be handled properly and those responsible for them should be brought to book. I think the media is unnecessarily adding fuel to fire and making things worse. This is a sensitive issue and the media needs to exercise some restraint."

 

[Pintu]

Indians have been denied to enter in a bar :

Australian bar turns away three Indians- Hindustan Times

Regards

 

[Pintu]

Gurdwara set ablaze in Australia- Politics/Nation-News-The Economic Times

Gurdwara set ablaze in Australia
15 Jan 2010, 0406 hrs IST, ET Bureau

NEW DELHI: In yet another attack targeted at Indians in Australia, miscreants set on fire an under-construction gurdwara in Melbourne, triggering off an outcry in India.

This is the latest of a long string of incidents targeting Indians in Australia. New Delhi immediately took up the arson incident with Canberra, which has been struggling to prevent or explain the continuing attacks against Indians.

The partially-built gurdwara in Melbourne was damaged due to a fire that was allegedly started by some miscreants. The Australian police, according to reports, said they were treating the blaze as “suspicious”, but more or less ruled out a racial motive. “At this stage there is nothing to suggest it is (race-related) other than the fact that it happened to a temple,” Detective Constable Stow was quoted as saying. But the Australian police admitted it was a “deliberate” act.

The police, according to report, believe the miscreants used molotov cocktails to set the gurdwara on fire. Responding to the incident, the ministry of external affairs said the government had taken up the matter with the Australian authorities. “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,” MEA spokesperson Vishnu Prakash said in a statement.

“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. The spokesperson said no one was injured and no structural damage was caused to the building.

But the targeting of a gurdwara led to condemnation from different quarters, with Congress demanding action from the Australian government and BJP calling for intervention by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Congress demanded that the Australian government step in to take responsibility and prevent such attacks in the future. “What continues to happen in Australia is very sad. An attempt was made to burn a part of a gurdwara building. It is a premeditated attack. It is time that the Australian government take responsibility to maintain and uphold the rule of law,” Congress spokesperson and Ludhiana MP Manish Tiwari said. He also demanded to know how many of the attackers had been arrested and punished. “Mere homilies from Australian government won’t do. It is time the Australian walked the talk,” Mr Tiwari said.

Meanwhile, BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy said it was time for intervention at the highest level. Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal condemned the incident and said he would take up the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The incident comes after 21-year-old student Nitin Garg was stabbed to death by unidentified assailants and the killing of Ranjodh Singh in New South Wales last month. According to report, almost 100 cases of attacks on Indians were reported in Australia in 2009 as opposed to 17 incidents of assaults in 2008.

 

[Pintu]

The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Nation | Aussie hits Indian, lands in jail in a jiffy

Aussie hits Indian, lands in jail in a jiffy

Melbourne, Jan. 15 (PTI): A drunken Australian was put behind bars today hours after he had verbally and physically abused an Indian taxi driver in western Victoria.

Paul John Brogden, 48, assaulted the cabbie around 2am (local time) today.

His three-month sentence — he pleaded guilty — has come amid a string of attacks on Indians in Australia. The magistrate cited “general deterrence” as one of the reasons for awarding Brogden the three-month jail term.

Brogden abused and assaulted Satheesh Thatipamula, 24, and damaged his vehicle because he thought the cabbie had taken him the wrong way. “When you drop me off I will kill you, you mother f**king Indian, I will kill you, you f**king Indian b*****d,” he said.

After he became abusive, the driver pulled into a service station to take refuge but Brogden followed him and assaulted him, police said.

Magistrate Michelle Hodgson said: “Regardless of race, violence toward people in vulnerable positions, performing valuable services to the community, valuable jobs like driving taxis or working in 7/11s, violence towards these people will not be tolerated,”

Brogden had gulped 24 Victoria Bitter stubbies (375ml bottles) on top of Valium tablets he was taking for an injury.

 

[Rage]

It's simple: India doesn't want to see its citizens harmed

SUSHI DAS
January 15, 2010

The Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith meeting Indian
Foreign Minister S M Krishna at Hyderabad House, New Delhi, in
October 2009. Photo: Aust Govt/ Graham Crouch​

Picture the scene of a car accident. An injured person lies on the ground needing help while the two drivers squabble over who caused the crash. That's about how intelligent the debate over attacks on Indian students has been.

It is embarrassing to watch politicians, police and the media in Australia and India engage in a dialogue that has so far been fatuous and, quite frankly, infantile.

On both sides there has been a lot of hot air and finger pointing. It's a dialogue of the deaf.

Victoria Police, announcing the lack of evidence for a racial motive after Nitin Garg's murder in a Yarraville park early this month, tell us Indian students are safer in Australia than in India. So what? Commentators tell us that terrible crimes are committed in India, too. So what?

And politicians, who tell us Australia is a safe destination for students, make matters worse by parroting a mantra that feeds the perception that Australia is either in denial or avoiding the issue.

Similarly, in India the reaction by some politicians has been hysterical. External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna said Garg's death was a ''heinous crime against humanity'' that would have a bearing on bilateral relations. Indeed, it was a heinous crime and it is understandable that the minister should want to passionately indicate his alarm, but to evoke something along the lines of genocide was simply absurd.

As if matters were not surreal enough, those in the Indian media who have been frothing at the mouth with indignation, disseminating inaccurate information with their breathless reporting and engaging in pompous moralising, have done a spectacular job of dragging the level of debate down as low as it could possibly go.

We have seen this cycle repeated every time an Indian student is attacked in Australia, and there is no sign it will be any different next time an incident occurs. But beyond the vacuous debate, an interesting picture is becoming visible.

India's growing confidence as an emerging superpower is on display. It will not tolerate its citizens being pushed around and it will not be shy in saying so. And Australia, whether it likes it or not, carries much racial baggage.

The White Australia policy may have ended more than 30 years ago, but it casts a very long shadow. Historically speaking, Pauline Hanson and the Cronulla riots are fresh incidents hitting an old nerve.

Add to this a globally connected, technologically sophisticated media that never sleeps. News from anywhere in the world is part of a 24/7 cutthroat cycle to get the headlines first. It is in this context that the debate over attacks on students is being played out.

And perhaps, somewhere deep in the background, is the rumbling over Australia's refusal to sell uranium to India.

But while the babble and hype has been going on, a single refreshing note of clarity has been sounded. India's erudite Minister of State, Shashi Tharoor, has sought to focus on what is at the heart of the matter.

When I spoke to him a few days ago, he made two important points: first, that Australia has a crime problem in the suburbs that it must attend to, and second, that India is within its rights to speak out when its citizens face danger.

''The whole racism issue has really coloured this debate in an unhealthy way, because when our media either seizes on that, or the Australian media in turn respond critically, we are essentially dealing with not black or brown or white, but red herrings,'' he said.

''We value our relationship with Australia, it's a friendly country … The truth is this is a problem of law and order, one that Australia is dealing with and needs to deal with internally. But it cannot but affect us when our citizens are reported to be suffering.''

And in a nod towards the nuances of the debate, he acknowledged the impact that India's ''agitated media'' had had on the Indian public by its constant reporting of Australian racism. ''Without wanting to exaggerate in any way the extent of this violence, it does worry us how this has become almost a dominant perception of Australia in the minds of so many Indians,'' he said.

In a few elegant words, Tharoor cut to the heart of the issue and it is worth quoting him in full: ''For an Indian mother to hear that her son has been assaulted in Australia, it little matters to her whether he was assaulted because of his race, or because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, or because he was the wrong colour or the wrong height, or was carrying an iPod. She doesn't want her son to be assaulted.

''It's a very common human feeling and that's essentially what this is all about.''


Attack On Indian Students | Racism

 

[Pintu]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/471034_-Melbourne-has-racists--but-racism-not-endemic-here-

'Melbourne has racists, but racism not endemic here'

STAFF WRITER 13:30 HRS IST

Natasha Chaku

Melbourne, Jan 16 (PTI) In a candid admission in the wake of a spate of attacks on Indians in Australia, a top Victorian police official today said there were racists in Melbourne and the issue needed to be discussed to tackle an upswing in street crime the brunt of which is being borne by Indians.

"Part of that (statement) is being absolutely upfront about every society having racism and racists," Victorian Deputy Police Commissioner Ken Jones was quoted as saying by 'The Australian'.

However, he said racism was not endemic in this city.

"We have got murderers and rapists, but for a developed country, less than our share. We've got less than our share of racists, but we have got them.

"The more we can be accurate in our discussion ... the more likely we are to be able to focus on that small element of society and prosecute it," he said.

 

[Sridhar]

Attacks on Indians are racist: Australia's ex-Army chief


Attacks on Indians are racist: Australia's ex-Army chief - India - The Times of India


Attacks on Indians racially motivated: Cosgrove

fullstory

Oz can't afford to be complacent on racism: Cosgrove
fullstory

Criminals preying on Indians: Cosgrove
Indian students attacked | Melbourne | Peter Cosgrove

The original text of his speech

Peter Cosgrove's Australia Day address

 

[Sridhar]

Two Indians, including a Taxi Driver attacked in Brisbane Written by Admin Friday, 22 January 2010 16:55 Brisbane: Breaking News! Two Indians, including a taxi driver, were attacked in separate incidents in Brisbane. The attacks came just after Australian PM Kevin Rudd termed the assaults on Indians as "regrettable".

In the first attack, a 25-year-old youth was attacked and robbed near his home in Macgregor in Brisbane. The youth's identity was not revealed by the police. The police is looking for the attacker.

In the second attack, a taxi driver was attacked after an argument with two men in Carindale, in Brisbane. The driver was taken to the Princess Alexandra hospital with cuts to his face and swelling to his right eye.

Two Indians, including a Taxi Driver attacked in Brisbane

Another past incident of beating up an Indian taxi driver came into light on Thursday. A 30-year-old cabie, Ravinder Singh was stabbed in Melbourne on December 9. He was stabbed in the lung.

 

[venkat]

I have a suspicion that pakistan and china will benefit with a possible soured and or bad india -Australia relationship. i hope both these countries are not clandestinely working together to stage attacks on Indians. Australia has good relations with china and sells uranium to it. Recently there were reports of pakistan army getting trained in OZ!!! Incase of future war with china and pakistan, australia may lay a blockade on IN operating in the indian ocean region and may provide passage to PLAN and pak navy!!!! so ,is some body working extratime to stage attack on indians,so as to destabilze indo-Austarlian relations!!!!

 

[Shredder]

We Indians need to unite, stop being soft, repay them with advance their "kindness and hospitality".

 

[Calanen]

It's still hype. There are 120,000 Indian students in Australia at any one time, and 100s of 1000s more residents, or those on visa. They predominatently live in poorer rougher areas, and perform night work where they walk home. Yes some people are assaulted, but loads of people are assaulted all the time in those areas of all colours. It is making the news because they are Indians.

Also, the papers are being irresponsible. They had headlines all over about the death of Ranjodh Singh and how it was white racists and so on. But none are reporting now that the three people charged with the crime are - Indians. Funny that.

But the magazine does not report that three people charged with the murder of Ranjodh Singh were Indian nationals.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/anatomy-of-hate-as-magazine-unleashes-antiaustralian-rage-20100131-n6n4.html

If this stops violent crime for everyone, that would be good. However, it is a community problem and not because of endemic racism. The vast majority of Australian people are oblivious to race. And the actual numbers of Indians as a percentage of those hear that have been involved in violence is very very minor. The statistics clearly show that Indians are safer in Australia than they are in India.

 

[Dark_Prince]

Its Just that students are afraid about their PR status and all. With Time, they will also gang real hard and thrash Auzzie and Lebanese Butt to the Soil!! Its about Time!!

Though All Auzzies are not Vile, majority are good, its few low lifes Auzzie, African and Lebanese gangsters who cause problems there, you cannot Blame only whites for the mess!

 

[VayuSena1]

It is funny that despite Australia having a horde of numerous races and cultures, it is only the Indians that end up getting killed or beaten up. I think there is more to these incidents than is known to the public. Because if this were a White Supremacist agenda, then other Asians such as Chinese, Singaporeans, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and Sri Lankans could also have been targeted. But it is always the Indians that are getting targeted. I am sure that as usual, our ministry is sleeping while there is something more than meets the eye on this issue.

 

[VayuSena1]

It's still hype. There are 120,000 Indian students in Australia at any one time, and 100s of 1000s more residents, or those on visa. They predominatently live in poorer rougher areas, and perform night work where they walk home. Yes some people are assaulted, but loads of people are assaulted all the time in those areas of all colours. It is making the news because they are Indians.

Also, the papers are being irresponsible. They had headlines all over about the death of Ranjodh Singh and how it was white racists and so on. But none are reporting now that the three people charged with the crime are - Indians. Funny that.


http://www.smh.com.au/world/anatomy-of-hate-as-magazine-unleashes-antiaustralian-rage-20100131-n6n4.html

If this stops violent crime for everyone, that would be good. However, it is a community problem and not because of endemic racism. The vast majority of Australian people are oblivious to race. And the actual numbers of Indians as a percentage of those hear that have been involved in violence is very very minor. The statistics clearly show that Indians are safer in Australia than they are in India.

Now now, Calanen. I don't think that is the case. I am sure that this is not a "race" issue alone otherwise other sub-continental Asians would be a target too. This is nation-specific as you can see the victims are essentially Indian. What is irritating Indians is that the Australian government is still in denial mode rather than dealing with these matters. While India too is high in terms of crime and corruption, we don't essentially kill people because they are from another country. Crime is everywhere we know that but this country-specific crime is not really appreciable and that is what we want the Australian government to stop. If this is done, then there is no harm done to our mutual ties.

 

[Calanen]

The two main examples that were being used were that of Ranjodh Singh, outrage at his murder when those charged were Indian Nationals. Then the next case was that of Jaspreet Singh,saying how Aussie racists set him on fire.

Turns out that Fire Man, set himself on fire while trying to torch his car to get the insurance.

Just stop and think a bit. All the wasted outrage on both cases in the Indian media and on forum boards, and it was all wrongheaded. An Indian sets himself on fire, and 3 Indians kill another Indian and that is Australia's fault for being 'racist'?

Burned Indian 'faked attack to claim insurance'
February 3, 2010 - 6:14AM

An Indian man who said he was set alight by assailants near his Melbourne home last month accidentally burned himself while torching his car for an insurance claim, police allege.

Jaspreet Singh, 29, of Grice Crescent, Essendon, in the city's north, faced an out-of-sessions hearing before a bail justice at St Kilda Road police complex early today charged with making a false report to police and criminal damage with a view to gaining a financial advantage.

The case gained international headlines among a series of attacks by white Australians on Indian nationals in Melbourne.

Mr Singh, who is in Australia on his wife's student visa, told police he was doused with petrol and set alight as he parked his car near his home early on Saturday, January 8.

He was taken to The Alfred hospital with burns to 15 per cent of his body, affecting his face, arms and hands.

But Detective Senior Constable Danielle O'Keefe of the arson and explosives squad told the hearing Mr Singh suffered the burns while trying to torch his 2003 Ford Futura.

Detective O'Keefe said arson chemists and hospital staff had concluded the damage to the car, Mr Singh's clothes and his injuries were not consistent with his story.

"Police inquiries have led us to believe that Mr Singh is in some financial difficulty and that he intended to sell his car but instead stood to gain $11,000 from an insurance claim out of this particular incident," she told the hearing.

Police had obtained security footage depicting Mr Singh buying a 15-litre opaque plastic container and 15.96 litres of petrol on the day before the attack.

The container and other evidence was found at his unit when he was arrested on Tuesday, Detective O'Keefe said.

She said Mr Singh had been very co-operative but denied all allegations.

His wife had been questioned about her knowledge of the incident, she said.

Burns were still obvious on Mr Singh's face and neck, and he wore pressure bandages on his arms.

Through an interpreter, he told the hearing he and his wife planned a holiday to India, leaving on February 20 and returning in late April to visit his child and extended family.

Detective O'Keefe said police did not oppose bail but noted that Mr Singh was a potential flight risk.

The bail justice, who declined to be named, granted him bail with strict conditions banning him from contacting witnesses and attending points of international departure.

He must report to police three times a week and surrender his passport.

He will appear before the Melbourne Magistrates Court on March 15.

At the time, police Detective acting Senior Sergeant Neil Smyth described the attack as "a bit strange" and said there was no evidence the attack was racially motivated.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/burned-indian-faked-attack-to-claim-insurance-20100203-ncfy.html

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...fter-fight-over-money/articleshow/5564463.cms

Two Indians die in Australia after fight over money
IANS, 12 February 2010, 02:33pm IST

MELBOURNE: Two men, believed to be Indians, died in Australia's Perth city after a fight over money while a third Indian was being questioned over their deaths, police said on Friday.

Detective inspector David Bryson said the deaths were the result of an argument over money.

He said a badly injured man in his 20s reached a St John Ambulance depot at Morley in Perth's east at about 4am on Friday. The man said that another man was lying injured in a nearby street.

"That male has been injured and he's alerted them to the fact there's another male injured not too far away...," Australian news agency AAP quoted Bryson as saying.

The second man's body was found on Crimea Street, where both men were believed to be living with friends.

The man who met the ambulance officers was taken to hospital but he died.

Bryson said: "Essentially the information that we've got is there has been a dispute about finances. Essentially that's it - there's been a dispute about money and things have obviously escalated and it's obviously taken a life of its own from there."

A police spokeswoman said that they believed the three men involved in the altercation were Indians.

A man aged in his 20s, who is also understood to be an Indian national, was being questioned over the deaths of the two men, which police are treating as a double homicide, the media report said.

 

[ajtr]

Indian journos paid to see we're not racist

By Mark Dunn From: Herald Sun February 23, 2010 1:55PM

Govt to pay for Indian journos' visit
The government will spend $250,000 to bring Indian journalists to Australia in a bid to improve...
Views today: 0


Indian journalists have been given concert tickets featuring Bollywood's Rahman as part of a goodwill exercise / AFP Source: The Daily Telegraph

25 Indian journalists tour Oz
Trips cost $10,000 apiece
Shown "good side" of Melbourne
TAXPAYERS are paying $250,000 for Indian journalists to be flown to Australia to help fight a public relations battle over attacks on Indian students.

The Herald Sun reports the Department of Foreign Affairs, through its international media visits budget, is paying flight and five-star accommodation bills of $10,000 for each of 25 Indian reporters from the subcontinent to take tours of Australia, focusing on Melbourne.

Abbott: Melbourne streets not safe

The Indian journalists get luxury accommodation at the Windsor or Sofitel hotels, are given tours of the MCG and are handed concert tickets that have featured Slumdog Millionaire Bollywood composer Rahman in Sydney and another performance in Melbourne.

Another delegation of Indian reporters, whose trip was financed by universities, was treated to a cricket session at Monash University with former Test skipper Graham Yallop.

"These (IMV visits) are just marketing junkets paid for by the taxpayer," Federation of Indian Students of Australia secretary Gautam Gupta said.

The comfort and entertainment being lavished on the Indian journalists, and the tightly scripted itinerary, was designed to gloss over the attacks on Indian students that have seen Indian media outlets paint Melbourne as racist and sparked a diplomatic crisis.

Mr Gupta said only the top universities were on the list to be visited by the Indian reporters and, apart from seeing railway stations at St Albans and Footscray, the journalists were kept from areas and people that would negatively affect their coverage.

"They are never taken to the colleges which collapse and they are never taken to the victims of assault," he said.

Mr Gupta said the reporters were hosted at five-star hotels and given soft diplomacy such as tours of the MCG and tickets to live shows.

As part of the public relations campaign, the diplomacy budget for Australia's High Commission in New Delhi has also been doubled, from $50,000 to $107,000 to help repair the damage caused by months of negative publicity and street protests.

A Foreign Affairs Department spokeswoman confirmed the cost of each visiting journalist was about $10,000.

 

[ajtr]

India urges Australia for action on attacks Down Under

New Delhi, March 3 : India Wednesday pressed Australia to take "effective steps" to ensure the security of Indians in that country and sought a list of authorised agents recognised by Australian institutions so that students are not cheated by touts or dubious institutes.


Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith updated his Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna about measures taken by Australian authorities, including close surveillance of areas where Indians stay in large numbers, and emphasized his government's zero tolerance for racist attacks.

He also reiterated Australia's commitment to bring to justice those responsible for attacks on Indian students and promised "transparent and upfront action".

Krishna asked for quicker prosecution of those found involved in attacks against Indians, sources said.

The two ministers also took up other bilateral issues, like counter-terror cooperation and prospects of a free trade agreement between the two countries.

Smith also discussed with Home Minister P. Chidambaram the security of the Commonwealth Games and expressed satisfaction at the security for key sporting event to be hosted by India later this year.

The safety of students also figured in his discussions with Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal.

"With regard to the desire expressed by the Australian side to develop a set of principles for the regulation of education agents recruiting Indian students to study abroad, Sibal requested the Australian side to provide to the Indian side, a list of education agents signed up by Australian institutions," the human resorces development ministry said in a statement.

A signed list of agents will help Indian students not to fall prey to touts who promise students all kind of things before sending them to sub-standard educational institutes.

Sibal emphasised the need of making suitable arrangements for Indian students who have been affected by closure of dubious institutes of vocational education recently.

Sibal and Smith also discussed India's plan to allow foreign educational institutions to open campus in India.

Earlier in the day, Smith admitted that some of the attacks on Indian students were racist in nature that caused considerable damage to Australia's reputation and standing among Indian people.

"We know that a number of these assaults are racist and have racial overtones. These are absolutely contemptible," Smith, who is on a three-day visit to India, told reporters.

Smith also said the Australian Institute of Criminology, a private body, was studying the attacks on Indian student and would soon come up with an exhaustive report to help the government deal with the issue.

"There are 70 investigations underway on these assaults. We regarded that it is condemnable and we have zero tolerance that doesn't reflect the modern, tolerant and multicultural Australia," he said.

"We don't believe that Indian students have been singled out but we can't assert that which is why we asked the Criminology Institute to do that study," Smith said.

"We have to work very hard to address that. We have to be open, transparent and upfront about that," Smith said on his third visit to the country aimed at assuring India about the safety of students in that country.

There are around 120,000 Indian students studying in Australia. The Indian diaspora there is roughly 500,000 strong.

 

[ajtr]

India colts skip tour of Australia

Melbourne: Security fears fuelled by the attacks on Indians living in Australia have prompted half-a-dozen academy-level players from India to pull out of a series that ironically was meant to promote goodwill between the two countries. The series was for 18-24 year-olds and featured first-grade Indian players and local cricket teams in Canberra. “Cricket is the greatest tie we have between the two countries. It’s really disappointing. There was nothing I could say to change their minds,” said Bruce Adams, the organiser of the tour for players from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

 

[ajtr]

Police desperate for witnesses to Indian boy's death

Victorian police are calling in every resource they can after a missing Indian toddler was found dead on the side of the road in Melbourne's north last night.

The body has not yet been formally identified, but it matches the description of missing three-year-old Gurshan Singh, who was visiting Australia from Punjab, in northern India, with his parents.

The Homicide Squad is investigating the death, but at this stage there are no suspects.

Gurshan Singh disappeared from a house in Lalor, in Melbourne's north, around 1:00pm yesterday.

The boy was an Indian national and was holidaying in Melbourne with his parents.

It is believed he disappeared from the house where he and his parents were staying while his mother was in the shower.

Police conducted a major search in the area, but at about 7:00pm a council worker found his body at Oaklands Junction, near Melbourne airport, around 30 kilometres from where he went missing.

Deputy Commissioner Sir Ken Jones says the death is being treated as a homicide.

"This is a terrible tragedy. We're doing everything within our power to establish what has happened," he said.

"Clearly the circumstances are suspicious, so we're assuming the worst.

"We're treating it, worst case, as a homicide.

He says an autopsy was conducted overnight but the cause of death remains unclear.

"There's no visible signs of injury but we're awaiting further tests in terms of the autopsy and toxicology," he said.

"It's highly unlikely the boy died of natural causes. I do know that much."

Police are reticent about providing any more information, but are desperately seeking the media's help to find witnesses.

Deputy Commissioner Jones has refused to speculate on whether police have any suspects.

"To maintain the integrity of an investigation, it's very important that those who may or may not become suspects, that we're able to interview them without them having to read speculative theories or heard them expounded," he said.

"It actually gets in the way of us getting to the bottom of what's happened."

Sir Ken has reassured the Indian community investigators will leave no stone unturned.

"It's important that any vulnerable community, and particularly the Indian community currently are assured that we are doing everything we possibly can," he said.

"I have had lots of messages... offering support for that community, because any tensions in that area, we just don't need and it will get under the feet of investigators" he said.

Darebin City councillor Tim Singh Lawrence has met with the boy's parents and says the community is rallying around the family.

"Last night everyone was in shock and obviously we're just staying back and we'll give any assistance that's needed," he said.

"It's sort of unimaginable that sort of grief, with a three-year-old taken from you in that manner."

Federation of Indian Students of Australia spokesman Gautam Gupta, says the boy's mother was in Australia studying, and was due to return home soon.

"What I know is that the mother of the missing [boy] was [on] a student visa. She was about to finish her course in a couple of months and go back and her family was basically visiting her," he said.

Mr Gupta says the Indian community is in shock.

"The shock that I have seen and heard is equal between Indians and non-Indians, even ordinary Australian families are really, really concerned and they are all saying that this is shocking," he said.

Deputy Commissioner Jones says he has assured India that police will do everything possible to find out what happened.

"Victoria Police and in fact any resources across the Commonwealth will be put at our disposal," he said.

"If foul play has taken place we will do everything in our power to found out precisely what's happened and to bring people to justice, and I would say to them that they can take my assurance on that."