Shravan Kumar, a 25-year-old student of Automotive Engineering at Melbourne’s Cambridge International College, is battling for life after he and three of his friends from Andhra were attacked by a group of teenagers at their home on Tuesday.

While Shravan was critically injured after one of the boys attacked him with a screwdriver, his friends—A Kiran, Subhash and Sandip—escaped with minor injuries. Abusing them, the attackers also asked them to leave Australia. While Shravan is still in hospital, his roommates, all students of cookery, have moved out of the house.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said India would “impress upon” the Australian authorities that such attacks “should not be permitted” and it is their “responsibility” to ensure the well-being of Indian students. Sujatha Singh, India’s High Commissioner

in Canberra, has rushed to Melbourne to take stock of the situation.