More Indians assaulted in Australia

MELBOURNE - Two more Indian taxi drivers, one of whom was a student, were attacked Saturday in Australia’s Ballarat city, making it the fourth attack on the community members in the past three days.

The attack came a day after a man was sentenced to three months in jail for assaulting and threatening to kill an Indian cabby.

This is the fourth such attack on Indians in the city in the past three days, The Age reported.

The driver, who is studying business administration in Ballarat, said he feared for his life but the attack would not stop him from driving taxis.

Police were also investigating a separate incident in which another Indian taxi driver was threatened with a knife.

The first incident took place Friday when a 24-year-old taxi driver, who was verbally abused by the passenger, sought refuge at a Ballarat service station. The passenger followed the driver into the service station and allegedly assaulted him. The window shield of the cab was smashed and the driver received bruises on his upper body and face.

The second incident occurred about an hour later when another taxi was called to Birdwood Avenue. “This time there were only two male offenders,” detective senior constable Jeff Highthorn said.

“And they also were skylarking around in the taxi and they fled from the taxi without paying. As they fled, they produced a small knife.”

According to police, the two incidents were linked and the attacks were opportunistic rather than racially motivated.

There have been a string of attacks on Indians in Australia, causing an outcry in India. Two of the vicious attacks proved fatal.

While Ranjodh Singh’s body was found Dec 29, another Indian, Nitin Garg, was fatally stabbed in Melbourne Jan 2. An Indian was set on fire in Melbourne Jan 9 while another Indian was assaulted at Coogee beach in Sydney Jan 11.