|
|
Indian set ablaze in Melbourne Exactly a week after an Indian permanent resident was stabbed to death in a city park, a 29 year-old Indian was allegedly set afire by four unidentified men while he was parking his car in a northwestern suburb in the early hours of Saturday. Jaspreet Singh, who was returning from a party at 1.30 am, suffered between 20 and 30 per cent burns on his arms, chest and face. Jaspreet Singh, a resident of Yamunanagar in Haryana, was admitted to Alfred Hospital here where he underwent a late evening surgery and is declared to be out of danger. There were conflicting reports whether Jaspreet - a courier van driver - was on a spouse visa with his wife having been a student or on a bridging visa after completing a vocational course in Melbourne. The couple is believed to have a six-year-old child living in India. The incident occurred after Jaspreet went off to park his car on a street after dropping his wife in front of their house in Grice Crescent of Essendon suburb. Four men in their twenties allegedly set upon Jaspreet, doused his car in an inflammable liquid and set it on fire with him inside it. There were conflicting reports of whether Jaspreet was first assaulted before his car was set ablaze. One version is that Jaspreet was initially assaulted and then his car ignited when he got back into it and tried to drive off. The other version is that assailants pushed Jaspreet into the car and then set it ablaze. Neighbours rushed out of the house on hearing a loud explosion caused by the fire and called the police and ambulance even as Jaspreet ran home while peeling off his clothes that were on fire. There are, however, two intriguing dimensions to the incident. One, police have been unable to find the burnt clothes Jaspreet claims to have peeled off as he ran, and second, no one in the neighbourhood - many of whom came rushing out on hearing the explosion - heard or saw the attack or anyone running away from the burning car. Michelle McLean, a neighbour who happened to be in her backyard at that time, said that a “massive explosion had blown her front door open”. “But I didn’t hear four people attacking anybody. Nor did I hear any racial taunts,” she added. Victoria Police was quick to rule out the incident as either “racially motivated” or a “targeted attack”. Jaspreet’s friend Vikas Puri endorsed this sentiment, “By the look of it, I don’t think it is racism. It was very dark on the street and anyway nobody can see who is inside a car.”Dayajit Singh, who is known to the couple, says Jaspreet’s wife will be seeking compensation from the Victim of Crime Tribunal. Interestingly, members of the Pakistan Student Association of Australia attended a thinly-attended meeting of some Indian students in the city to discuss the next course of action. “We are facing similar problems but our people feel scared to report it to the police. We are here to display solidarity and are willing to put up a joint front,” said Mohammed Rafi, a Pakistani student from Sialkot. Meanwhile, Victorian Government officials here said that it hoped the attacks would not dissuade people from considering Australia as a safe place to study, work and live. Victorian Minister Peter Batchelor says the Government hopes the incident will not harm people’s views of Australia. “We don’t support any sorts of violence at all, irrespective of who it is against - whether it is against people who are born and live here or whether it is for all of the fantastic migrants or refugees or students who come to our country,” he said. “Whether it is racially motivated or for some other reason such as theft or some other crime related factor, it diminishes our community, it diminishes us all and we’re totally opposed to it. We want the police to thoroughly investigate this to get to the bottom of it,” Batchelor adds. 10 days, 2 dead, one burnt December 29: Partially burnt body of Ranjodh Singh (25) found in New South Wales. January 2: Indian graduate Nitin Garg (21) fatally stabbed in a Yarraville park. January 10: Jaspreet Singh (29) attacked, set on fire in Melbourne, survives
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
