In a shocking incident, a Hindu temple and two Asian- run restaurants were defaced with racist graffiti in Melbourne, Australia. The incident has raised a serious concern among the community members residing in Australia, a report states on Thursday, July 24.
The temple was the Shree Swaminarayan temple at Melbourne’s eastern suburb of Boronia, which was painted with red racist slurs on July 21, Monday morning, the Australia Today web portal reported. It was also observed that on the same day, the same slur was written on the two restaurants, situated on Boronia Road. An image of Adolf Hitler with the message, “Go Home Brown C**T”, was found spray-painted on the premises of the temple.
In a strong reaction, the president of the Hindu Council of Australia Victoria chapter, Makrand Bhagwat, said “it feels like an attack on our identity, our right to worship and freedom of religion,” the web portal reported.
Victoria police confirmed the incident, saying that “There is no place at all in our society for hate-based and racist behaviour.” In a private message to Temple Management, Victoria’s Premier, Jacinta Allan, marked the attack “hateful” and “racist”, the report said.
The news came shortly after a day of a report of an Indian student being brutally assaulted in Australia. The man 23 year-old, Charanpreet Singh, was harassed in Adelaide over a parking dispute. The incident is being investigated as a possible racially motivated attack.
Singh claimed, while he was with his wife, a group approached his vehicle, used racial language, and then punched him. This led to from facial fracture and admission to the hospital. A viral video revealed that Singh was attacked with metal knuckles. The attackers were heard using racial abuse, saying, “F**k off, Indian”.
