By our reporter

Melbourne: The attack on members of the Indian community in Epping on 12th September has led to charges against the Victoria Police that they tried to coverup the attack by not releasing the bashing news for fourdays. The attack which comes at a senstive time when Victorian Premier John Brumby is going to India next week to promote Australia’s image as a safe destination for international students.

Gautam Gupta of the Federation of Indian Students of Australia (FISA) has alleged coverup of the incident.
“The whole system is try to keep these things under cover,” Mr Gupta told The Australian.
“They want to make this major issue into a minor incident. They want it swept under the carpet,” he said.
Victoria Police have denied there was any attempt to coverup the incident.
India’s Consul-General in Victoria, Anita Nayar, said the apparent racist motivation behind the attack was “worrying” and the state government needed to assess whether there was a larger problem.

Earlier, four members of the Indian community, 26-year-old Sukhdip Singh, his brother Gurdeep Singh and uncle Mukhtair Singh were attacked by the group when they were playing pool in a pub in the eastern suburb of Epping on Saturday (12 September).

A PTI report quotes victim’s relative Onkar Singh that at around 11′o clock my brother-in-law Sukhdip was playing pool along with few family members when they were attacked by around 70 locals who were attending a party. But police sources have claimed that only 15 people were seen outside the Epping pub where the bashing occurred.
“They were quitely playing and were trying to avoid trouble even after these locals were trying to provoke them by passing comments,” he said.

The group started telling them to go back to their country. “When they reached the car park to leave the place a huge crowd attacked them and started bashing. The attackers were in their teens and around twenties,” he said.The police then arrested four persons. After police made the arrests a group of about 15 men and women continued to make racist remarks which included the F word.

Meanwhile, a Victoria Police spokesperson said that before the incident a woman had made a racist remark to four men playing pool at the bar. “A short time later, the pool-playing group decided to leave. It is believed they were followed to the car park by up to four males who were part of a larger group celebrating a birthday in the function room,” the spokesperson said.

Later the police took four persons to Epping police station, interviewed them and released them without charges.About 30 Indian students have been attacked in various Australian cities from June to August.

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