Five charged with attacking two Indian students in Australia

MELBOURNE: Five men have been charged with viciously attacking two Indian students in this Australian city Monday night, a media report said. The attack comes a little over three weeks after the fatal stabbing of Indian student Nitin Garg in a park in Yarraville in Melbourne.

The attackers made comments to the pair before one of the Indians was pushed to the ground and kicked at about 10.20 p.m. Monday. The 18-year-old Indian victim also suffered a wound to his left ear from what appeared to be an edged weapon, police said.

The other Indian student, a 22-year-old man, was also punched to the ground and suffered minor abrasions to the forearm, Australian news agency AAP reported.

The assailants, who were described as being of Asian appearance, fled after the attack.

Police confirmed the two victims were Indian students but could not say whether the comments made were racial.

The 18-year-old was taken to St Vincent's Hospital with lacerations to the left ear while the 22-year-old victim did not require hospital treatment.

Nine people were detained over the attack on the two Indian students.

Five youths have been charged with affray, intentionally cause injury and summary assault offences. The other four have been released pending further investigations.

The string of attacks on Indian students since May last year has caused an outcry in India and strained relations between Canberra and New Delhi.

Australia's immigration department figures for the period from July to Oct 31 last year show a 46 percent drop in student visa applications from India compared with the same period in 2008. It has heightened fears for the country's $17 billion international education industry. About 115,000 Indians have studied in Australia in the last 12 months.

Indian taxi drivers have been targeted in some recent incidents.

Three Indian taxi drivers were attacked in different Australian cities Jan 16. While a 25-year-old Indian taxi driver was assaulted in Melbourne, two Indian taxi drivers, one of whom was a student, were attacked in Ballarat.