A 20-year-old man was stabbed in a western suburb after he had allegedly racially abused a group of Indian students in Melbourne in possibly the first act of retaliation. The victim allegedly said, "You are black. You don't belong here. Go away from our country", The Age newspaper reported. Police said they were looking for two dark-skinned men aged between 23 and 29 years in connection with the attacks on Monday. They said a car believed to belong to people attacking Indians was torched at a factory near the station in western suburb. The attack on the victim was the first time Indian students appeared to have retaliated against violent attacks against them as they walk back home late at night, the daily said. Chairman of the Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria, Sam Afra, said it would be unacceptable for the Indian community to take the law into its own hands."There is a danger this will become like a chain reaction with the victim becoming the perpetrator. We don't want to get to that," he said. Kapil Bajaj, spokesman for the Hindu Council of Australia, said the possible retaliation was worrying and the Council would condemn such a response. A Metropolitan Ambulance Service spokesman said the 20-year-old man stabbed in the early hours of Monday morning was treated at the scene before being transported to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
"The Age" report said a man, who did not want his name published, said the Indians took the action "in self-defence" after police failed to respond to their call for protection in the wake of attacks on fellow Indian students. He disputed claims by the police that they were liaising with the Indian community group that gathers at the station each night to protect late travellers from attacks as they return home. "The police don't care. In this suburb, everyone is a migrant," he said. His claims were verified by another person who witnessed the attacks but did not want to be identified.
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