It was perhaps the silence before the storm. After a long gap, another Indian was attacked on racial grounds in Melbourne. A young man in his early twenties was reportedly brutally beaten after being enquired as to whether he was an Indian.

According to police reports, the man was walking towards the railway station in Sandown Park very early in the morning and was allegedly met by four boys on bikes and three of them were carrying baseball bats. After enquiring about his motherland, they hit him from behind and after he fell, he was kicked hard from all sides. Two people passing by carried him home. He had bruises as well as a huge cut across his nose. The victim has later given a statement where he said that the assailants were probably teen agers.

The FIAV President, Mr. Vasan Srinivasan said that he was amazed that that the attack took place in an east suburban area which is pretty multicultural. He was quoted by a newspaper saying that he requested everyone for a peaceful co-existence. He was quite naturally very dejected.

The police also said that there was another attack that had taken place on a Tuesday night but refrained from commenting whether it had any racial motivation or not. A man nearing his forties was walking home when he was reportedly punched from the back and kicked again when he fell down on the ground. The attacker could not be identified by any witness.