Melbourne: Indian High Commissioner to
Australia has reportedly met Australian Governor-General,
warning of long term consequences unless more action was taken
to prevent attacks against the Indians and pointed that the
Victoria was in "a state of denial".
The new development came after Victorian premier
John Brumby yesterday lashed out Indian media and some
government officials for "unbalanced views on the ongoing
attacks".
According to a newspaper report, top Indian envoy
Sujatha Singh had sought a meeting with Bryce in Sydney last
Friday.
She has believed to have told the Governor-General
Quentin Bryce that Australia is not racist but warned of long
term effect unless more action was taken to prevent attacks.
The report said while she applauded the role of
police in NSW, Queensland and South Australia for handling
racist attacks, Victoria was taking too long to respond and
was in a state of "denial" over the severity of the attacks.
Citing more than 100 incidents of racist violence
against Indians, she told Bryce Victorian authorities were in
denial over the scale of the attacks.
The report said even as Victorian police have
repeatedly said they do not record the ethnicity of assault
victims, a spokesman yesterday was unable to confirm Singh`s
claimed number of incidents.
The 29-year-old Jaspreet Singh of Grice Crescent,
Essendon, was charged yesterday with making a false report and
criminal damage with a view to gaining financial advantage
over the car fire.
Police told a bail justice that Singh was in
financial difficulty and stood to gain AUSD 11,000 in
insurance from the incident.
He was bailed to appear in Melbourne Magistrates
Court on March 15.
Sharply reacting on the latest developemnt,
Victorian Premier yesterday commented "I hope that there is
some balance to the debate, some balance to the reporting in
India, and certainly to date that balance hasn`t been there".
Brumby said the point needed to be made that the
people charged with the murder of Indian Ranjodh Singh in
NSW were Indian.
The Indian High Commission declined to comment on
the meeting between Singh and Bryce.
PTI
