Oz condemns Indian's killing; say attack not racial

Melbourne: Australian authorities on Monday "unreservedly" condemned the killing of an Indian youth in Melbourne calling his stabbing a heinous crime even as police claimed there was no evidence to suggest that it was a racial attack.

Twenty one-year-old Nitin Garg, an accounting graduate who was originally from Punjab, died after he was stabbed on Sunday in West Footscray area. He was the first to die in a slew of attacks on Indians in Australia.

"I obviously unreservedly condemn this attack," Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said. "People in Melbourne's west, people around the nation, I think they will be joining together to say we unreservedly condemn this violence."

Gillard said police should now be allowed to carry out their investigation. "This is a nation that welcomes international students," she said. "We want to make them welcome, this is a welcoming and accepting country."  

Condemning the killing of Garg, Victorian Acting Premier Rob Hulls said, "the tragic death of a young Indian lad is ... abhorrent, it is a heinous crime and it is something that the police are putting all resources into investigating and finding the culprit." Victorian police, meanwhile, denied any racism angle in the killing of the Indian youth, claiming that there was no evidence to suggest it was a racially-motivated attack.

(Read and watch: SM Krishna condemns Indian's murder in Oz)