India says attacks on students in Australia should 'stop now'

Talking tough, India said on Friday the spate of assaults targeting its students in Australia have to "stop now" and asserted that racism was a factor in some of the incidents, shortly after another youth from the community faced a petrol bomb attack that left him badly burnt.

"The fact of the matter is that whatever the motive behind the attacks, they seem to be Indian students... there is a racist element in some of the attacks but many of the attacks are opportunistic," Indian High Commissioner Sujata Singh said.

Singh, who met premier of Victoria John Brumby and top police and educational officials of the province, said the authorities have assured their full support, with the police saying that they will increase patrolling near the trouble spots frequented by snatching gangs.

"It is my earnest hope that these attacks stop now. And that is precisely what we are all trying to work towards," Singh said. She said the government is monitoring the situation and the response to the incidents.

Her remarks soon after another Indian student, 25-year-old Rajesh Kumar, suffered 30 per cent burns after a suspected petrol bomb was hurled at him in his home in Sydney.

Shravan Kumar, a student from Andhra Pradesh, was fighting for life in a hospital here after being stabbed by a screwdriver by a group of teens in a weekend attack that also left three of his friends injured.

Another student Baljinder Singh, stabbed by two attackers with a screwdriver early this week, has been discharged from hospital today. Singh was attacked near the Carnegie train station by two armed men, who demanded money from him. As he was searching through his bag to hand over his wallet, he was stabbed by the attackers who then laughed and fled.

Observing that the Indian students are seen as "soft targets," the High Commissioner said it has been made clear to the Australian government and police that they will have to come up with a solution to prevent such attacks.

Meanwhile, a top police official here denied that the attacks on Indian students are racially motivated.

There was a perception that Indian people were "weak prey" for criminals, Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe was quoted as saying by media here.

"I don't think they are (racist crimes) in general ... more opportunistic activity. We think they (Indians) are vulnerable, we don't think it's racial, we think they are a weak target."

Prime minister Kevin Rudd said he was horrified at the attacks but defended the police response.

"Any act of violence, any decent human being just responds with horror at the sorts of attack which have occurred recently...but the key thing is to make sure our law enforcement authorities are doing the best they can. I am confident they are," he was quoted as saying.