Last week, a group of teenagers viciously attacked Saurabh Anand, an Indian man, with a machete as he was making his way home from a pharmacy in Melbourne, Australia. According to The Australian Today, the 33-year-old suffered serious injuries, including a hand that was almost amputated but was eventually successfully reattached.
The incident happened at approximately 7:30 p.m. on July 19, following Saurabh's pickup of prescription drugs from Altona Meadows' Central Square Shopping Centre. While walking home and speaking to a friend over the phone, he was suddenly surrounded by five teenagers.
According to the report, one of the assailants began rummaging through his pockets, while another punched him in the head, knocking him to the ground. A third attacker then pulled out a machete and held it to Saurabh’s throat. In a statement to The Age, Saurabh described the terrifying moment, explaining that his immediate reaction was to raise his arm to shield himself. “While I was trying to protect myself, the machete just went through my wrist. The second attack went through my hand. The third went through the bone,” he said.
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In addition to the grievous injuries to his hand, Saurabh was also stabbed in the shoulder and back. The attack left him with a fractured spine and multiple broken bones. “All I remember is the pain, and my hand was hanging by a thread,” he recalled. Despite his injuries, Saurabh managed to walk out of the area and call for help. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors initially feared they would have to amputate his hand. Fortunately, they were able to reattach it following emergency surgery.
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Australian media outlets reported that four of the five teenagers involved in the assault have been arrested. Authorities are continuing investigations into the case. This incident comes after an Indian national was attacked in Australia last week. A group of unidentified men are accused of violently assaulting and racially abusing a student named Charanpreet Singh during a parking dispute. Around 9:22 p.m., Singh and his wife were driving to see the city's light displays when the incident happened close to Kintore Avenue.
Concerns about both attacks have been voiced by community leaders and members of the Indian diaspora, who are calling on authorities to protect and safeguard Australians of Indian descent.
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