Australia 'sees' reduction in attacks on Indians

Australia's High Commissioner to India Peter Varghese on Monday assured that his government is making extra efforts to curb the racist attacks on Indian students.

"We are seeing a reduction in the numbers. I think that reflects the extra efforts we are putting into law enforcement, into policing, tougher sentencing we are imposing and infact we are prosecuting many more of the perpetrators. So, I hope that this trend continues," said Varghese, on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi.

"It's now quite clear from the prosecutions and the arrests that have taken place that only a small proportion of these attacks can be attributed to a racist motive. When that happens we condemn it and our courts have dealt with the perpetrators very seriously," he said.

"But we have taken many steps with the central and state government level in Australia to ensure that we properly manage this issue," he added.

Varghese further said that the heads of all state governments as well as the central government had recently agreed on a set of measures for international students. These included better briefings, better welfare and support services and providing them with avenues for complaints so that any act of violence cannot go unnoticed.

He also talked about setting up a 24-hour resource center for all international students in Australia.

A recent spate of attacks on Indian students have raised tensions between Australia and India.

Over 100 cases of assault and death have been reported since last year in Australia, especially from Melbourne, which have racial overtones.