Injured Indian student's family want Australia to let him stay

The family of a 21-year-old Indian student, brutally attacked here late last year, has sought the intervention of Australian immigration minister to ensure he can stay in the country for better treatment.

Manrajwinder Singh, an accounting student, was attacked on December 29 while on a night out with friends to celebrate the end of semester.

Police have charged three people over the incident. They said Singh was viciously attacked by a group of teenagers as he and his friends waited for a train.

While Singh's recovery is well underway, he and his family will need Australia's Immigration Minister Scott Morrison to intervene in the case in order to ensure he can stay in the country for treatment.

Singh's brother Yadwinder is trying to ensure his younger sibling can remain in Australia.

"Because the attack happened here so if he unfortunately goes back to India then there is no such treatment for him and we have to pay for him, and that is hard for my family," Yadwinder was quoted as saying by ABC News.

"His health is my first concern, so that is why I'm fighting for his long stay in Australia otherwise there is no reason I want him to get the residency of this country."

Singh, who was kicked in the head and hit with a stick suffered severe brain damage, spent the past eight weeks in hospital, undergoing surgery on both his brain and jaw.
Yadwinder said his brother faces months of rehabilitation, not to mention many more months with questions over his visa status.

"Doctors have told me, he can't attend the school for almost a year or one and a half year," Yadwinder said. "So he's going to remain at home...he cannot work as well."
That affects his student visa, which was due to expire in 2017, when he should have completed his three-year bachelor degree, he said.

The Singh family is now seeking legal advice, but they have been warned they have a long process ahead of them.

Migration lawyer Michael Clothier said Australian law leaves the final decision for such cases in the hands of the immigration minister. The Australian Immigration Department is yet to respond, the report said.