By IANS,
New Delhi, Jan 9 (IANS) Describing the setting ablaze of an Indian in Australia as “very disturbing”, India Saturday asked Canberra to take preventive action and voiced its growing discontent over the lack of sufficient steps to check such crimes.
“We came to know that another attack has taken place in Australia. It is unfortunate that things are not moving as they promised. It is very disturbing for everyone of us in the government as well as for the people of the country,” Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi told reporters here.
“I want to make it loudly clear that the (Australian) government should take preventive action,” he said on the sidelines of the 8th annual conclave of the Indian diaspora here.
Jaspreet Singh, a 29-year-old Indian, was allegedly set ablaze Saturday by four unidentified attackers at Essendon in Melbourne while he was parking his car shortly before 2.00 a.m.
He is said to be in a stable condition in Alfred Hospital with burns to 20 percent of his body.
Voicing outrage at continuing attacks on Indian students, Ravi asked the Australian authorities to take strong action and deliver better results.
“Why cannot they arrest them and put them behind bars and prosecute them? My suggestion is that please take preventive action against these elements. Our government expresses serious concerns and is waiting for better results,” Ravi said.
Calling for the “preventive arrest” of such criminal elements, Ravi said: “The Australian police must be efficient enough to mark those people who are responsible for this.”
The gruesome attack on Jaspreet Singh in the early hours of Saturday took place a week after Nitin Garg, a 21-year-old Indian student, was fatally stabbed in Melbourne, provoking India to renew its warning to the Australian authorities to ensure the security of its students.
Garg’s body was flown here from Melbourne via Dubai Saturday afternoon and handed over to his family.
The Australian government condemned the incident but insisted that it was not racially motivated.
Reacting to the incident, India’s external affairs ministry Saturday said it was “vigorously” pursuing with the Australian authorities the latest attack and clarified that Singh’s condition was “not critical”.