No fresh attacks on Indian students in Australia: Sibal

NEW DELHI - No fresh attacks on Indian students have been reported from Australia recently, parliament was informed Friday.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said: “The number of attacks on Indian students on record in Melbourne has reduced and no case of attack on Indian students has been registered in the last three months in Melbourne.”

He said that an Indian delegation had visited Australia in April this year and had held extensive discussions with Australian officials in Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria regarding the safety and well-being of Indian students.

Sibal said the Indian authorities have urged the Australian authorities to take stringent measures to stop such attacks and also to apprehend the culprits involved in attacks.

He also said that the Australian government has undertaken various measures for protection and safety of Indian students, including introduction of an international students care service, deployment of additional forces, amendments in sentencing laws and empowering police forces to combat violence and antisocial behaviour.

The high commissioner of India has also had several meetings in 2009 and 2010 with the concerned ministers of Australia, he added.

Indian students have been at the receiving end of a spate of racially motivated attacks in the country. Various students have been injured in such attacks and some have even lost their lives.

Around 100,000 Indians are studying in Australia.