Two more Indians assaulted in Australia

BRISBANE - Two Indians, including a taxi driver, have been assaulted in two separate incidents in this Australian city.

Following the attacks late Thursday and early Friday, Queensland’s Acting Premier Andrew Fraser assured that they have a “welcoming, tolerant society”. Brisbane is the capital of Queensland province.

A taxi driver was attacked at about 2.40 a.m. Friday after an argument broke out with two men in Carindale, in Brisbane’s southeast.

The men allegedly punched the driver in the face several times and smashed the car’s windscreen, AAP news agency reported.

The driver was taken to the hospital with cuts to his face and swelling to his right eye.

Police on Friday charged a 28-year-old man and a 25-year-old man with assault, wilful damage and attempted stealing.

In the other assault on Thursday, a 25-year-old man was assaulted and robbed while using a phone box near his home in Macgregor, in Brisbane’s south at about 10.40 p.m.

He was punched in the head twice and had his wallet stolen.

Fraser said he wanted to assure Indian nationals that Australia is a safe place.

“This is a welcoming, tolerant society,” he told ABC Radio Friday.

The acting premier added there was no evidence the two matters were linked, and hoped the incidents don’t fuel more bad press in India.

“Queensland and Australia remain a very safe place. There’s no doubt this has been an issue in the international arena.

“That’s why we want to emphasise that this is a welcoming, tolerant society. No one endorses any violence against any individual,” Fraser said.

There has been a string of attacks on Indians in Australia with Indian taxi drivers being 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.

The attacks came a day after a man was sentenced to three months in jail for assaulting and threatening to kill another Indian taxi driver in Melbourne.

The spate of attacks on Indians in Australia has caused 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.