Cops to probe if attack on Indian-origin man was 'racially-based': Australia

New Delhi: Whether the attack on an Indian- origin taxi driver in Australia was "racially-based" will be investigated, the Australian High Commission here said today and asserted that the police takes all assaults seriously.

Expressing regret over the incident, an Australian High Commission spokesperson said the government attaches great importance to the safety and security of everyone who resides in Australia.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said the victim was an Australian national of Indian origin. The Indian consulate general has met the victim and is in touch with various authorities in Tasmania, he added.

In a statement, the Australian HC spokesperson said, "We regret the attack on taxi driver of Indian origin in Hobart which occurred over the weekend. We understand he suffered minor injuries and has been discharged from Royal Hobart Hospital.

"We place great importance on the safety and security of everyone who resides in Australia, including our Indian community."

It said, "The matter is current and under investigation by Tasmania Police. Tasmania Police takes all assaults seriously. We understand that whether the assault was racially -based will be a component of the investigation facts."

An Indian man was attacked by a group of teenagers, including a girl, who hurled racial abuses at him at a restaurant in Australia's Tasmania state, a week after a Catholic priest of Indian heritage was stabbed in the neck at a church in Melbourne.

Li Max Joy, who is pursuing a nursing course and working as a part time taxi driver in Australia, has alleged that five people, including a girl, hurled racial abuses like "you bloody black Indians" at him and assaulted him at the McDonald's restaurant at North Hobart.

33-year-old Joy, who hails from Puthuppally in Kerala's Kottayam district, told PTI that the incident took place when he went to the restaurant for a coffee after returning from a trip.