PA/07/10 29 January 2010
Australia arrests more perpetrators of attacks against Indian Nationals
The Australian High Commissioner, Mr Peter Varghese, today welcomed advice that the NSW police had arrested three persons in connection with the murder of Ranjodh Singh, a 25-year old Indian man, whose burnt body was found in the NSW town of Griffith on 29 December 2009. Gurpreet Singh, 23, and his 20-year-old wife Harpreet Bhullar faced Court on 29 January. A third man was arrested on 29 January and will also be charged with Mr Singh’s murder.
Mr Varghese said that the arrests underlined the importance of allowing investigations to run their course and not to jump to conclusions based on initial reports. The identity of those arrested (all three are Indian nationals), as well as the conclusions reached by the investigation, clearly showed that racism had not been a factor. Mr Varghese said that this case had been widely reported in the Indian media as a racist attack and he hoped that those which carried such reports would now set the record straight.
Mr Varghese reiterated Australia’s commitment to bringing to swift justice the perpetrators of attacks against Indian nationals in Australia. He stressed that Australia’s police forces and courts would continue to come down hard on all instances of violence.
Providing an update on actions taken by Australian police forces, Mr Varghese said that more than 50 people have been arrested so far in conjunction with cases involving Indian nationals.
Deaths
Three murders involving Indian nationals have occurred since late December 2009, including that of Mr Ranjodh Singh.
On 6 January Mr Chamanjot Singh, faced court charged with killing his wife Manpreet Kaur at the couple’s home in Sydney on 29 December. Mr Singh was arrested by Victorian police as he got off a bus at Southern Cross Station in Melbourne.
Police investigations into the death of Nitin Garg in Melbourne on 2 January are continuing. Police held a re-enactment of his final walk on 23 January in an effort to prompt information from the public. The Victorian Police are treating the case as a matter of highest priority and have asked any witnesses to come forward.
Assaults
Police across Australia have stepped up their response to incidents of assault against Indians in Australia. Victoria Police have arrested nine people and charged five in connection with an assault on two Indian students in Melbourne on the night of 25 January. An arrest was made in a case of harassment of Indian taxi drivers in Brisbane on 26 January. Arrests have been made in regard to two assaults on 21 January in Queensland. Two men were remanded in custody on charges of robbery and assault-related crimes after an attack in Geelong on 16 January. Police charged a man in Melbourne on 20 January in relation to an incident in which a taxi driver was assaulted after refusing to carry passengers in excess of his taxi’s capacity.
Gurudwara fire
Investigations are also continuing into a fire at a Gurudwara in Melbourne on 13 January, with police making all efforts to identify the culprits.
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