Supcontinent Friends of Labor delegation with the family. Photo: Supplied.
By Neeraj Nanda
Melbourne, 18 December: The Indian restaurant owner, who was bashed in Ballarat in front of his wife and son a few days back, has a fracture in his nose. He was badly beaten and his face and the right side of his head have swelling. Sumeet Anand, who has been in Australia for thirty years, is today a traumatized person with his wife and 10-year-old son.
While beating the restaurant owner the two attackers said, “You f… Indian go back to your country. You taking our jobs,” Sumeet told SAT in a telephone talk from Ballarat.
“I feel there should be a law in Australia against racism, he says.
Sumeet’s wife, Mandeep Kaur told SAT that the family was still in trauma and her husband depressed.
The family is facing sleepless nights since the tragic attack. The couple’s son says, “ I feel sad about my dad.”
The family is getting support from many quarters. The local MP and a delegation of Subcontinent Friends of Labor – SFOL (from Melbourne) consisting of Manoj Kumar, Alok Kumar, Dinesh Chawan and Vinayak Kolape have visited the couple and sympathized with them and assured all help.
Manoj Kumar said in a Facebook post, “These attacks have no place in our society, and we should continue to work towards ensuring Victoria remains a safe place for all.”
In a Tweet on Dec 16, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said, “ I want to apologise on behalf of all fair minded & decent Victorians to Mr. Anand & his family.”
According to the Victoria Police website, a 35-year-old Ballarat man was arrested just before 6pm tonight. He has been charged with assault related offences and remanded to appear at Ballarat Magistrates’ Court at a later date.
– SAT News Service
