Indian assault victim not treated properly by Oz hospital

Onkar Singh, brother-in-law of Sukhdeep told PTI, "It was the efforts of consulate who pressurised the hospital to treat and examine Sukhdeep at the earliest otherwise we were given a date for examination as September 24th."

The attack left Sukhdeep with a broken jaw, a broken nose and broken cheekbones, and bleeding in the eyes. He said Sukhdeep's case was not taken up properly and the victim was only given painkillers initially.

26-year-old Sukhdip Singh, his brother-in-law Gurdeep Singh and uncle Mukhtair Singh were attacked by a group of people when they were playing pool in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Epping.

His uncle Mukhtiyar Singh, 46, suffered a broken shoulder and a black eye while Gurdeep Singh, 31, has a fractured jaw. He said police was incorrect in saying that only four of the localites were directly involved.

Asked if he had exaggerated the number of people involved while giving statement to India media, he said, "Four people cannot beat four people so badly. It has to be more," Onkar said, and added, "By the time police arrived most of them had run away and what they saw was 15-20 by-standers and 4 people bashing them."

Onkar had told the media that a group of 70 people was involved in the attack. He said that police even at first denied that the attack was racist but later confirmed that it was one.

Around 30 Indian students have been attacked by Australians in various cities in a span of three months. Describing the attacks as "unfortunate", External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Thursday said Indian government is in touch with the Australian government to prevent recurrence of such attacks. Aussie Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has assured India that the government will ensure the safety of its citizens in Australia.