A 15-year-old Australian boy was arrested on Thursday for the January 2 murder here of Indian student Nitin Garg. The police, however, said there was no racial motive behind the killing, which sent shock waves in India, threatening to derail India-Australia ties.
The teenager, who was not named, was produced before a children's court after his arrest in a Melbourne suburb in the early morning. He was remanded to custody till October. He will be produced in court on July 8.
Garg, 21, an accountancy student from Punjab, was stabbed to death while walking to work through a park, in a series of violent attacks on Indians.
With stab wounds, he stumbled into the restaurant where he worked and bled in front of his workmates before breathing his last.The weapon has not been found. The Victorian police said no racial motive emerged in the investigation so far.
India informed
New Delhi Special Correspondent reports:
The Victorian government has informed the Consulate-General of India in Melbourne of the arrest, the Ministry of External Affairs said.