PM concerned,Australia admits some racial angle

Even as Australian authorities on Tuesday asked Indian students to disband their patrol groups and “let the police do their jobs”,Overland told foreign journalists,”We feel that the police force should be multicultural and people from different communities including Indian should join the police.”

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard on her part,said the federal Government had been working with Victoria and other states to ensure that Indian students feel safe in Australia. “As a national Government we’re concerned about any manifestations of violence in any part of the community,” Gillard was quoted as saying by the local media.

Her comments came in the wake of hundreds of Indian students protesting against the continuing attacks on the community members.

Concerned over reports of some Indian students in Australia retaliating in the wake of attacks on them,the Indian Government too has asked them to exercise restraint. “I would like to urge the Indian students to be patient and show restraint. They have gone there (Australia) for higher studies. They should concentrate on that rather than retaliate,” External Affairs Minister S M Krishna told reporters outside Parliament House on Tuesday.

In possibly the first act of retaliation by Indian students in Australia,a 20-year-old man was stabbed in Melbourne on Monday after he had allegedly racially abused a group of Indian students. No one has yet been charged over the incident. According to reports,Indian students had formed groups to patrol troubled areas in Melbourne to prevent racial attacks.