ADELAIDE, Australia – Charanpreet Singh, a 23-year-old Indian student, was badly hurt in a violent attack in central Adelaide on Saturday, July 19. The police are looking into it as a possible racial crime. The episode, which 9News and other news outlets have covered a lot and which has gone viral on social media, has shocked Indian students all over Australia.
The Night of Violence
Charanpreet Singh and his wife parked their car near Kintore Avenue in the middle of Adelaide on Saturday night about 9:22 PM local time so they could see the city’s “Illuminate” light displays. Police and witnesses said that a car drew up next to them and five men got out. Some of the attackers were said to have sharp items or metal knuckles. They told Singh to move his car right away.
The attackers apparently started yelling racial slurs at Singh, urging him to “F* off, Indian,”** without any clear reason. Then they attacked him physically. They punched Singh through the window of his car, stomped on him, and hit him with both weapons and naked hands.
“They just said ‘f*** off, Indian,’ and then they started punching,” Singh told 9News from his hospital bed. “I tried to fight back, but they beat me up so badly that I passed out.”
Singh was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital almost away, where doctors found that he had sustained terrible injuries, such as brain damage, many fractured bones in his face, a broken nose, and extensive eye injuries. Because of how bad his wounds were, he had to remain overnight and have surgery.
Police investigation started and condemnation was given
South Australia Police quickly went to the scene after getting reports just before 9:30 PM and discovered Singh on the ground, badly hurt. On Sunday, the day after the attack, police detained a 20-year-old man from Enfield and charged him with assault causing injury. This defendant has been released on bail while police continue their intense hunt for the other four attackers who were engaged in the assault.
Investigators have got CCTV footage from the popular area, which is known for its well-lit streets and public cameras near the University of Adelaide and other cultural landmarks. This evidence should help them find the other people who were involved.
A video of the attack has gone viral, making people angrier. Singh boldly told 9News about the mental effects of the attack while he was in the hospital: “When things like this happen, it makes you want to go back… You can modify anything about your physique, but you can’t change the colors.
Peter Malinauskas, the Premier of South Australia, sharply condemned the violence, calling it “deeply disturbing” and making it clear that actions like these that are based on race have “no place in our state.”
The premier said, “Any time we see any evidence of any racial attack, it is completely unwelcome in our state and just not consistent with where the majority of our community are at.” This reaffirmed the state’s stance against racism. The event has brought back worries about the safety and health of immigrants and international students in Australia.