Punjabi Youth Stabbed To Death In Oz

[Azaad]

In the first attack on an Indian this year, 21-year-old Nitin Garg, who migrated from Punjab and had permanent residency in Australia, was stabbed to death in Melbourne’s northern suburb of West Footscray on Saturday night.

He became the first victim to succumb to his injuries, amid a string of racial attacks on the community members in Australia.

The murderous attack has sent shock waves in the Indian community here. Since no witnesses have so far been forthcoming, it has been difficult to determine whether or not the crime was racially motivated.

However, the fact that some of Nitin’s personal belongings, including a few valuables, were found at the site of the attack indicates that the motive could be other than robbery.

Describing it as a vicious attack, Homicide Squad Senior Sergeant Dave Snare of the Victoria Police was quoted as telling reporters here that there was no evidence that the Indian youth had been targeted because of his race.

“I think to draw any conclusion as to the motive may interfere with the investigation and would be presumptuous at this stage,’’ he said.Nitin, who resided in the nearby Newport suburb, was stabbed in the abdomen, in a park while on his way to fast food joint Hungry Jack’s restaurant, where he worked part-time.

Nitin barely managed to stagger into the restaurant, located on the corner of Somerville Road and Geelong Road in Cruickshank Park, West Footscray, around 10 pm and pleaded for help before collapsing. He was rushed to the Royal Melbourne Hospital where he later died.

The police said Nitin had travelled to Yarraville train station about 9.30 pm and then walked along Anderson Street to Cruickshank Park where he was brutally stabbed. The forensic police has scoured the scene and conducted a line search with help from the state emergency service which, however, failed to locate any weapon.

Interestingly, the Sunday Herald Sun today reported that over a dozen elite schools in Melbourne are embroiled in a nationwide race hate scandal with many of their students having joined a Facebook group calling upon immigrants to leave Australia.

The racist social page, containing disparaging language against immigrants, has 5,000 members from across the nation and is growing by an estimated rate of 300 members a day.Sections of the Victorian government continue to be in denial that a racist problem exists in this otherwise multi-cultural and multi-lingual state. Two months ago, a local court here declined to acknowledge in its ruling that abusive comments against a Sudanese, who had been brutally beaten up Anglo-Saxon youth, was racist.

Book guilty, says angry India

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister SM Krishna today strongly condemned the brutal murder of an Indian student in Australia last night.

In a statement, Krishna called on the Australian authorities to speedily bring to book the perpetrators of the crime and directed the Indian High Commissioner in Canberra and the Consul General in Melbourne to closely coordinate with the local authorities.

The Minister has also asked the Indian Mission to extend all assistance to the family of Nitin as well as members of the Indian community there.

India has already taken up with Australia at the highest level the issue of such attacks on students in recent months.

He said the authorities should take note of the “deep anger” being caused by such incidents and the “bearing” this could have on bilateral ties.

[Azaad]

A pall of gloom descended on this town after news broke that a local youth was murdered in a suspected racial attack in Melbourne, Australia where he had gone for studies about three years ago. Yesterday a friend of Nitin Garg, 22, rang up the latter’s family members at their home in Vijay Nagar Mohalla here at around midnight to inform them about his death.

Nitin was working in a part time job in a Melbourne restaurant 'Hungry Wing'. Yesterday, after completing his shift, when he was coming out of the restaurant some young people - apparently natives - tried to snatch his mobile phone from him. He tried to confront the snatchers who in turn stabbed him several times in his abdomen and chest, inflicting fatal injuries.

The restaurant owners then took him to a hospital where he underwent surgery for one and a half hours. However, the doctors could not save him and he died on the operation table.

Nitin had recently returned to Australia on December 16 after spending his vacation with his relatives here. His father had died of a heart attack in July last year.

Nitin’s family members expressed their dismay on the way the local administration had reacted after the news of the death came in. His uncle said no official had bothered to visit the family and console it. “Instead the administration officials have been persuading us not to give details of Nitin’s death to the local media”, he added.

Nitin’s body is expected to reach Jagraon from Australia in four days.

[sikh in melbourne]

sad...

[Azaad]

It seems that Nitin Garg’s family will have to wait for few more days to see his body for the last time.

At present, the Australian government is posing legal glitches to rub salt on the wounds of Nitin’s mother Parveen Garg, who is longing to see her son for the last time.

Family members said the Australian court had asked Nitin’s friends to complete formalities, which would delay the process of bringing back the body.

Nitin’s elder brother Hanish said the court had demanded a power of attorney from the family members in favour of Amanjeet Singh, who is in Australia and is completing the formalities to bring back Nitin’s body to India.

Nitin’s friend Amanjeet Singh Dhillon, a resident of Samrala, who is helping getting the body sent back home, said the authorities concerned had refused to hand over the body to him since he is not in blood relation with Nitin.

Thus, Nitin’s mother had today executed the power of attorney in favour of Amanjeet and faxed it to the authorities and sent an e-mail of the scanned copy to them as well. Now, the family is waiting for the authorities to accept the document.

The family rued that although the External Affairs Ministry had mounted pressure on the Australian authorities to send the body at the earliest, they had not taken any step in this regard.

Nitin’s relative Ashok Kumar said after completing all the formalities, it would take at least 24 hours to coat the body with anti-decay solution so that it should not get decomposed by bacterial infection. Further, it would be covered in coffin in order to be flown back to India.

It would then take another 20 hours to reach Raja Sansi airport, Amritsar.

He demanded the Indian authorities should take up the matter with the Australian authorities so that they assert minimum documentation and formalities to speed up the process.

According to a PTI report from Melbourne, acting Foreign Minister Simon Crean said the Australian authorities would cooperate with Nitin’s family and expedite the process, terming any delay as “unfortunate”.

“We are going to try and cooperate with the family as expeditiously as we can to return the remains, the body, to his home,” Crean said.

Asked why it took almost two days after Garg’s murder for officials to contact his family in India, Crean said: “I think it’s unfortunate if it did take that length of time”.

The Indian mission in Canberra said they are extending all possible assistance to the bereaved family.