Another Indian student assaulted in Oz

Melbourne, Jun 5: Notwithstanding assurances by the Australian government that it would not tolerate racial violence, another Indian student was beaten up by a group of youths here today, the 10th person from the community to be assaulted within a space of a month.

20-year-old Amrit Pal Singh from Haryana, who is pursuing a course in community welfare from the Caps Institute of Management here, was assaulted near a McDonald's outlet when he was walking to the place where he worked on the part-time basis.

"One of the guys came to me and took off my mobile. When I asked him to please give me my mobile back, he gave me a punch on my face. I also gave a punch to him. Following which, his four friends came and started beating me," Singh said, adding "I have told the police about the incident." "One of the attackers took out a knife to hit me but I escaped as it hit my bag," he told PTI.

Singh was the 10th Indian student to be attacked within a month. One of the victims, Shravan Kumar, a student from Andhra Pradesh, remained critical after being stabbed with a screwdriver by a group of teenagers in a racial attack that also left his three Indian friends injured here last month.

The latest attack came despite the Australian government, including Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard, pledging to take all steps to prevent such incidents. PTI