Melbourne, Feb 19 (IANS) The family of an Indian student in Australia, who was brutally attacked by a group of young people last year in Melbourne, has urged the Australian authorities to help him to stay on in that country as he needs medical attention.
Manriajwinder Singh, 21, an accounting student, was brutally assaulted by a gang of eight men of African appearance and one fair-skinned woman at Birrarung Marr park in the city. The attack took place Dec 29 last year while he was on a night out with friends to celebrate the end of semester.
One of the attackers kicked Singh in the jaw, causing him to fall unconscious, from which the victim is still recovering.
His family has called for Australia’s immigration minister to intervene in the case in order to ensure that he can continue staying in Australia, ABC News reported Wednesday.
Singh has spent the past eight weeks in hospital, undergoing both brain and jaw surgeries.
He still struggles to comprehend how his life changed dramatically in a split second.
He has no memory of the attack that left him in intensive care, or the past 20 years of his life.
“They (my family) told me so many things but I don’t believe,” Singh was quoted as saying.
“Doctors have told me he can’t attend school for almost a year or one and a half years,” the victim’s brother Yadwinder Singh said.
“So he’s going to remain at home… he cannot work as well,” he added.
The victim’s student visa is due to expire in 2017 and he should complete his three-year Bachelor of Accounting by this dateline.
Yadwinder said his brother’s health is his first concern, and that was why he was fighting for Singh’s longer stay in Austarlia.
The Singh family is now seeking legal advice, but they have been warned it would be a long process ahead of them.
The Australian immigration department is yet to respond.
–Indo-Asian Mews Service
bb/ab/vt