Victorian top cop asks Indians to 'look poor' to avoid attacks

Natasha Chaku
Melbourne, Feb 7 (PTI) Victorian police chief Simon
Overland has advised Indian students in Australia to keep a
low profile and "try to look as poor as you can" to avoid
attacks, drawing strong condemnation from the community which
called his statement "ridiculous".

Indian students could make themselves less of a target if
they do not display their expensive gadgets, Oliver told an
international students' safety forum here on Saturday.
"Don't display your iPods, don't display your valuable
watch, don't display your valuable jewellery. Try to look as
poor as you can," Overland was quoted as saying by 'The Age'.
The Victorian Police Chief Commissioner said students
could take some steps to protect themselves.
"If you can live somewhere safer, live somewhere safer,"
he said. "If you can avoid public transport into high-risk
areas late at night, avoid it."
Victorian Premier John Brumby defended his top cop,
saying the advice to the overseas students to avoid crime, as
per Overland, was a comment about high crime areas.
"He may have been making the point that in some
areas, there are higher crime rates than in others," the
Premier was quoted as saying by 'AAP'.
Brumby said he and the police chief condemned in the
strongest possible terms "acts of violence, and particularly
any violence which is racially motivated".
But, the Federation of Indian Student Association (FISA)
rejected Overland's remarks with its spokesperson Gautam Gupta
calling the police chief's advice "ridiculous." (More) PTI NC


AHM


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