Australia provides attacks dossier to India | Australian foreign minister Stephen Smith telephoned his Indian

MELBOURNE: 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 Australian 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 the 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.

Source: Timesof India

Posted in: India News