The Centre had sought a report on the murder of an Indian student in Australia, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said here on Monday. The girl's body was found in a suitcase near a canal in Sydney last week.
The police claim to have arrested a 19-year-old person, who has been charged with murder and aggravated sexual assault. Mr. Krishna described the incident as “unfortunate.”
Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi said he would take up the matter with the Australian government.
Vayalar's assurance
Talking to newspersons in the Parliament House, Mr. Ravi said he would seek a report from the Australian High Commissioner here.
However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was not satisfied by the government's response and felt not enough had been done to stop attacks against Indians in Australia. “We thought the matter had been settled, but again this incident has come to our notice,” said BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
‘Very, very unfortunate'
“This is a very, very unfortunate incident, which has been reported. And I have asked and we are getting a report from our Ambassador. We are closely following it up, monitoring it and will see that justice is done,” said Mr. Krishna.
On the other hand, the Australian High Commission condoled the death, but did not suspect racial motives behind the crime.“This brutal killing will shock Australians. The police are determined that the perpetrator will be brought to justice. There is no indication that this awful crime was racially motivated,” the High Commission said in a statement.
The Australian High Commission extended its “sincere condolences” to the family and friends of the victim.
High Commissioner Peter Varghese has sent a personal message of condolence to the student's father and spoken to the family.
