Burnt body of Indian found in Australia

A partially burnt body found in Australia's New South Wales province last week is believed to be of a 25-year-old Indian national, the police said on Tuesday, in what might be the second fatality in a slew of vicious attacks on Indians.

The body found on a roadside near Griffith last week is yet to be formally identified but police believe it is that of an Indian man, an ABC report said.

Australian officers are in touch with the man's family in India and the Indian Consulate to help with identification.

Detectives from State Crime Command will today help local officers in a search of the Willbriggie area where the body was found as part of the investigation into his death.

Nitin Garg, a 21-year-old Indian, was stabbed to death in Melbourne on Saturday night, becoming the first casualty in a series of attacks on members of the community here.

A union organiser at Griffith said he has heard of serious assaults in Willbriggie. Harry Goring from Australian Workers Union said he was aware of unpaid labourers taking matters into their own hands.

Police, however, did not say if they were investigating claims that the man owed money to harvest labourers.

 "Over last 12 months there's been two assaults around that area, people endeavouring to retrieve money for labour," Goring said, adding: "I'm not saying for a moment that it's this with this man, but there have been a number of fracas in relation to Indian people pursuing certain individuals".

Goring said action is needed to ensure legal processes are followed by contractors.

"From Centrelink to Immigration, Fair Work, Workcover, we all need to do a sustained effort to fix this problem," he said.

Goring said there has been a huge increase in contract labour, particularly Indian students, and many are being ripped off.

"It's a weekly occurrence. We don't hear about the one and two's that are happening. It only becomes sensational when a large group gets ripped off," he said.