Australia releases dossier on high-profile attacks on Indians

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

The dossier, prepared by Victoria Police, was handed over after Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith telephoned Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on January 11 to express his condolences over the January 2 murder of Indian student Nitin Garg in Melbourne. It reveals that nearly half of those arrested between March 2009 and January 5 were under 18, The Age reported.

The dossier shows that among the 18 high-profile cases, two cases of attack reported in May and June last year remained unsolved. "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. 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.

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.