Australia provides attacks dossier to India

Natasha Chaku
Melbourne, Jan 27 (PTI) Australia government has
handed over to India a police dossier of high-profile attacks
on Indians over the past year, which reveals that nearly half
of the attackers were juveniles.
The dossier, prepared by Victoria Police, was handed
over in recent weeks, after Foreign minister Stephen Smith
telephoned his Indian counterpart S M Krishna on January 11 to
express his condolences over the murder of Indian student
Nitin Garg in Yarraville.
"It shows nearly half of those arrested between March
2009 and January 5 - three days after the Garg killing - were
under 18," the Age newspaper reported.
The dossier shows that among the 18 high-profile
cases, two cases of assault reported in May and June last year
remained unsolved, the paper said.
Sources said Australian Government initially resisted
providing more information to Indians as it deemed racial
appearance to be a limited indicator of ethnicity because it
was only based on a subjective police assessment.
It claimed people described as Indians could originate
from countries such as Mauritius and Fiji.
The dossier shows that of the 18 cases, two people
were run over by a train and there was no foul play. While
three cases remained unsolved, 33 people have been arrested
over the remaining 13 cases. MORE PTI