Indians unsafe in Aus, says victim's family

The killing of Nitin Garg, a 21 year-old Indian student in Australia, has shocked his family members, who insist that the attack was racist in nature.

Nitin Garg was stabbed to death at West Foorscray, a suburb of Melbourne, by some goons on Saturday night, while he was on his way to work at a local restaurant. The police have said the motive for the attack, which they described as vicious, was not known.

The police added that Garg managed to stagger 300 meters to the restaurant before collapsing. He was rushed to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where he later died.

The news of his death has disturbed his family members, who live in Jagraon Township near Ludhiana city. Annsh Garg, Nitin's uncle, said that they would launch a protest against the Indian government, as well as the Australian government, for failing to provide security to Indian students.

He alleged that Australian authorities did not provide Nitin with immediate medical aid. "There is no security for our children in Australia. Why are we sending our kids there? Despite repeated assurances by our prime minister and foreign minister that such instances will not take place again, our children are not safe. We believe that there is a lot of racial discrimination in Australia and they are attacking Indians over there," said Annsh Garg.

"This time we will launch a protest through the media, against the Indian government as well as the Australian government, for failing to provide security to Indian students. Nitin was not provided immediate medical aid and died two hours after the attack. If only they had provided him with timely medical aid, he could have survived," he added.

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna had on Sunday condemned the attack and warned the Australian government that if it did not take immediate action against the ongoing attacks, India will be forced to take a firm decision. Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had on Monday urged the Central government to take the attacks on Indians in Australia seriously.

A series of attacks on Indian students in 2009, attributed by police to opportunistic criminals, escalated into a diplomatic issue between Australia and India after some Indian students and the Indian media labeled the attacks as racist. The attacks prompted protests and calls for better protection of international students by local authorities, with some saying they no longer felt safe in Australia.