PTI
 
MELBOURNE, May 28: In a fresh incident of racial attack on Indians in Australia, a 25-year old student was stabbed here, even as another youth from Andhra  Pradesh was battling for life after an assault by local teenagers.

Baljinder Singh, 25, was attacked on Monday night when two men carrying weapons approached, the 'Herald Sun' reported.

The attackers demanded money and as Singh was searching through his bag to hand over his wallet he was stabbed in the abdomen. Singh screamed for his life, his attackers laughed and fled the scene, the report said.

"I bent down and one guy stabbed me," Singh said adding "I just wanted to save my life and yelled "just don't kill me."

"They just laughed when they stabbed me in the stomach. They laughed at me...I was screaming 'don't kill me, don't kill me'."

Singh was quoted saying that he believed that the city was a safe place to live, but was now convinced that Indian nationals are being targeted as easy prey.

"We're not safe here now," he said adding "I thought it was safe here, that's why I came to Australia.

"Now there are lots of attacks. You can see that in the western suburbs, but I thought Carnegie was the safest place in Melbourne."

Singh, who is recuperating from emergency surgery at the Alfred Hospital, has not told his family for fear they will be distressed.

Police officer Darrell Allen said it was an "opportunistic crime", but was not racially motivated.

"We fear that if we don't act quickly and get the public's assistance there will be further attacks in the future," he said adding "I don't think it's racially motivated. It's an opportunistic crime and it's of great concern."

A youth from Andhra Pradesh was battling for life after a brutal racial attack on a group of four Indians by Australian teenagers here drawing strong reaction from India which wants an end to such violence.

Shravan Kumar, a 25-year-old student who was attacked with a screwdriver over the weekend along with his three friends is in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital here and doctors are "not very optimistic" about chances of his recovery, Indian Consul General here Anita Nair said.