Police yesterday were investigating the burning of an Indian man, who was hospitalized in serious condition after he said four men attacked him and set him on fire.
Police said the assault, which occurred on Saturday in Melbourne, did not appear to be racially motivated. But it comes amid growing tension between India and Australia over a highly publicized spate of street violence against Indian students in recent months in Australia’s second-largest city.
Last week, Australia condemned as “deeply offensive” an Indian newspaper cartoon depicting an Australian police officer as a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
The cartoon, published on Tuesday in New Delhi’s Mail Today, satirizes Victoria state homicide detectives for saying there is no evidence the recent stabbing death of a 21-year-old Indian-born Australian resident in Melbourne was motivated by race.
In Saturday’s attack, Victoria police said the 29-year-old man was parking his car when four men approached him, pushed him against the car and poured an unknown fluid on him. One of the men then set the victim on fire before the group fled, police said.
The victim was left with burns to his arms, chest and face, police said. He was hospitalized in serious but stable condition.
“I believe there’s no reason at this stage to consider this in any way racially motivated,” Sergeant Neil Smyth told reporters in Melbourne. “The circumstances of parking a car randomly on a side street and just some people approaching him are a bit strange and it’s highly unlikely, therefore, to be a targeted attack on any individual.”
Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard said in a statement the federal government condemns all violence, but declined to comment further pending the police investigation.
India’s External Affairs Ministry urged calm, but reiterated that such attacks threaten its relationship with Australia.
“Under the circumstances, the media is advised to exercise utmost restraint in reporting on these sensitive issues as it could aggravate the situation and could have a bearing on our bilateral relations with Australia,” a statement released late on Saturday said.
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