Recent attacks on Indian students in Australia's second-largest city were racially motivated, India's ambassador to the country said Friday as she demanded police and local officials do more to prevent violence against foreigners.
Five students from India were stabbed and beaten in two unrelated incidents in Melbourne in the past week, with one of the victims still hospitalized in critical condition six days later. Another student was beaten and robbed on a train earlier this month.
The Federation of Indian Students of Australia has called on New Delhi to declare Australia an unsafe destination for Indian students if the attacks continue.
Sujatha Singh, India's high commissioner to Australia, met Friday with Victorian State Premier John Brumby and senior police and educators to express her government's concerns over the violence.
"There is a racist element to some of the attacks," Singh said at a news conference in Melbourne, adding, "frankly, we are all appalled."
Police argue that Indian students often fall victim to assault in Melbourne because they travel alone late at night to work long hours at part-time jobs and are known to carry valuable items such as laptop computers. They urged students to take precautions.
"There has been a rise in this type of crime," Police Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said, adding, "It's something that's been concerning us."
Singh said it wasn't so simple and "some of these attacks have not been opportunistic."
"They have been motivated by other considerations, which is unfortunate because it does not reflect the true face of Australia," Singh said.
Gatecrashers attacked four Indian students with a screwdriver at a party Saturday night, and one victim remains in the hospital. On Monday night, another student was stabbed while walking alone down a Melbourne street and had to be treated at a hospital.
Earlier this month, a 21-year-old Indian student was beaten and robbed on a train in Melbourne. Last year, two students working as taxi drivers in the city were assaulted.
Student Srinivas Vedantam witnessed Saturday's party attack and said the assailants shouted racial abuse.
"We feel we are not safe in this country," he said. "They are taking so many fees and taxes from international students, but they are not protecting us."
Walshe insisted police were committed to protecting Indian students. A special unit to help Indians in Melbourne was set up in January, he said, and officers will visit India next month to brief Melbourne-bound students.
John McCarthy, the Australian high commissioner to India, told reporters in New Delhi that it still was not clear whether the attacks were motivated by race but "police are actively pursuing those responsible for all these incidents."
Police said they have arrested two people aged 16 and 18 over the train attack, while the other attacks were still being investigated.
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Associated Press writer Ashok Sharma in New Delhi contributed to this report.
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