Oz teen gets 13-yr jail for killing Punjab student
TNS & Agencies

Melbourne/Ludhiana, Dec 22
A teenager in Australia was sentenced to 13 years in prison on Thursday for stabbing to death an Indian student here last year. Nitin Garg died of his injuries after a 15-year-old tried to snatch his mobile phone while the former was walking through a park on his way to work in  January last year, The Australian reported.

Supreme Court judge Paul Coghlan today sentenced the youth, who cannot be identified, to 13 years in prison for the murder, with a minimum of eight years before parole.

Justice Coghlan said, without a guilty plea, that the sentence would have been 16 years with 12 years before parole. The teenager, who has already served 18 months in jail, is now 17.

In his judgment, Justice Coghlan said he accepted the boy had not intended to kill Garg, saying the foreign student was a completely innocent and “random victim” chosen not because of his race but because of his mere presence in the park.

"Although this is a very serious crime, it was committed spontaneously," said Justice Coghlan.

Garg, following the attack, tried to call 000 before dropping his phone. But his call did not get through. He staggered to the Hungry Jacks where he worked before collapsing just inside the door.

The teenager was arrested six months later, after a friend he was with came forward to the police.

Meanwhile, it was a day of catharsis for Nitin’s family.

Parveen Kanta, Nitin’s mother, broke into tears. “The sentence cannot bring back my son. Yes, there is a sense of satisfaction that my son’s killer has been punished for the offence. The killer has devastated a happy family and created a void," said Parveen Kanta.

Hanish Garg, elder brother of Nitin, thanked the Australian and Indian governments for seriously pursuing the issue and bringing the matter to a logical conclusion. “Actually, two persons were involved in the killing of my brother while one has been sentenced. I hope the other person would also be jailed soon,” said Hanish.

It was Aman, a close friend of Nitin, who first broke the news to the victim’s family.

(With inputs from Mohit Khanna in Ludhiana)