Australian police arrest Indian’s attacker, out on bail

NEW DELHI - The New South Wales Police Tuesday arrested a man involved in an alleged assault on an Indian permanent resident at Sydney’s Coogee Beach and charged him with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray”, the Australian High Commission said in a statement.

A court granted the person bail with conditions on 12 January. The matter is listed to appear before court on 24 February, the statement said.

Investigations are ongoing regarding any other individuals who may have been involved in the incident. The victim is being kept informed of developments by the New South Wales police.

The 28-year-old victim, who has been living in Australia for more than a decade, claimed he was beaten up Monday by a group of locals on a beach in Sydney.

The victim, who refused to be named for safety reasons, said that he was kicked and punched by the group near Coogee beach.

Earlier this month, 21-year-old Nitin Garg, an accountancy graduate was killed by unidentified assailants in Melbourne while he was on his way to work, the first death in a slew of attacks on Indians in the last few months.

Early Saturday, another Indian was set ablaze as he parked his car at his home in Melbourne. He is being treated in hospital with 20 percent burns to his body and his condition has been described as “not critical”.