Oz High Commissioner warns Indian scribes of first hand media reports, February 2010

Melbourne: The Australian High Commissioner, Mr. Peter Varghese, today said that the charging of an Indian national in Australia for making a false report again demonstrated how wrong initial media reporting could be.

Mr. Varghese said that the incident, in which Mr. Jaspreet Singh claimed to have been set alight near his home in Melbourne, was carried around the world as a racist attack. It had done serious damage to Australia’s image in India. It had fuelled the view that Indians had been singled out for racist attacks in Australia.

Mr. Varghese said that the police investigation had concluded that no such attack had occurred. Police have charged Mr. Jaspreet Singh with making a false report to police and criminal damage in lieu of gaining financial advantage.

Police allege that he deliberately set fire to his car to claim A$11,000 insurance, but inadvertently burned himself in the process. Mr. Singh faced court this morning and was bailed to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on March 15.

Mr. Varghese said that the arrest, together with the arrest on January 29, of three Indian nationals for the murder of Mr. Ranjodh Singh, should be a lesson to all not to cry "racism" every time something bad happened to an Indian national in Australia.

Mr. Varghese said that both cases had been widely reported in the Indian media as racist attacks. He hoped that those which carried such reports would now set the record straight.

Mr. Varghese again called on the media to allow the system of police investigation and criminal justice to run their course.

In those cases where racism has been a factor, the Australian courts have dealt with it in a swift and decisive way. He said, "Australia has zero-tolerance for violence and zero-tolerance for racism. Both are reflected in Australian law, and in the penalties the courts are handing out."

Providing an update on actions taken by Australian police forces, Mr. Varghese said that more than 50 people have been arrested so far in conjunction with cases involving Indian nationals.

He added that, "The Indian public should be assured that the perpetrators will be punished, but please let the police and the courts get on with their work."

Mr. Varghese emphasized the importance of treating each incident seriously but also cautioned against judging the nation or the Australian community by the actions of a criminal minority.

He particularly rejected claims that these attacks reflected community hostility against Indians.

Australia and India have so much in common, and so many common and growing interests.

The Indian community in Australia has been one of the most successful of Australia's many immigrant communities.

"It is time we moved on from such simplistic and damaging reporting which only serves to increase the level of anxiety of Indian students in Australia and their relatives in India," he said.