Attacks on Indians: Oz Releases Dossier; Half of the Attackers below 18

A police dossier of high-profile attacks on Indians over the past year, which Australian government has released, shows that almost half of those arrested since March last year for vicious assaults were less than 18 years old, reported IANS.

The dossier was prepared by Victoria Police and was handed over after Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith telephonically spoke to Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna on Jan 11 to express his condolences over the Jan 2 murder of Indian student Nitin Garg in Melbourne, report said.

According to ‘The Age, the dossier shows that about of those arrested for attacks between March 2009 and Jan 5 were under 18, said report.

It also says that of the 18-high-profile cases of attacks, two were reported in May and June last year and remains to be unsolved, said report.

“The Australian government initially resisted giving more information to Indians as it deemed racial appearance to be a limited indicator of ethnicity because it was only based on a subjective police assessment,” The Age quoted sources as saying.

It claimed people described as Indians could have originated from countries such as Mauritius and Fiji, said report.

The dossier goes on to tell that of the 18 cases, two people were run over by a train and there was no foul play. In the remaining cases, 33 people have been arrested, report said.

The revelations come a day after five youths were charged for assaulting two Indian students in Melbourne on Monday night.

The spate of attacks on Indians in Australia has caused an outcry in India. Two of the vicious attacks proved fatal. The assaults have strained relations between Canberra and New Delhi.