People of Indian appearance victims of most crimes in Victoria

Basant Kumar Mohanty

Melbourne, Aug 17 (PTI) Amid a spate of attacks on
Indian students here, a top Australian police official Monday
said that in about 80 per cent cases of robbery and assaults
in Victoria the victims were people of "Indian appearance".

"The case of robbery and assault against people of
Indian appearance has increased from 1,082 in 2006-07 to 1,447
in 2007-08 in Victoria," state police commander Trevor Carter
said.

About 80 per cent of the victims could be Indians, he
told a group of visiting Indian journalists.

"We do not keep information about the nationality of
the victims. We say victims appear to be of Indian origin. But
this figure is much less than the total number of cases," he
said.

Victoria has registered about 36,000 criminal cases in
2007-08, Carter said but did not provide the exact number of
Indian students attacked in the recent months in the state.

In past three months, over two dozen Indian students
have been attacked in various parts of Australia, mainly in
the Victorian capital Melbourne.

The attacks on foreign students have been mostly
carried out by teenagers with the intent of robbery, he said.

"Most of the attackers are teenagers, between the age
group of 15 and 25 years. They belong to various cultural
community and financial background. Their main intent is to
rob," Carter said. PTI BKM
DDC
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