The student, who was also a cabbie, was attacked and left to bleed on a Brunswick West street, police said.

The victim parked his taxi outside his girlfriend's home on Collier Crescent in the wee hours on Wednesday  and rang her to bring his dinner outside when someone approached his vehicle, The Age reported.

His girlfriend heard the driver scream out over the phone as he was attacked, police officer Greg Johnson was quoted as saying by the paper.
The woman ran outside and found her boyfriend lying outside the car, bleeding with a single stab wound to the chest.

Police do not believe the attack was racially motivated or an attempted robbery as the man still had cash in his pocket and his mobile phone, the paper said.
Investigators are examining whether another car was involved.

The taxi has damage to the rear of the vehicle and bits of a broken front headlight were found near the scene.

"That is certainly one of the lines of inquiry we'll be looking along, that it could be a road rage incident," Johnson said.

Paramedics were called to the scene just before 2 am and took the man to Royal Melbourne Hospital where he remains in a serious condition.

Police said officers were door-knocking the area and checking CCTV footage from inside the taxi.

Since June this year, over 30 Indian youths have been attacked in various cities of Australia.