23-year-old Indian student brutally beaten in Adelaide, suffers brain trauma
Indian student beaten in Adelaide: "They just said 'f*** off Indian', and then started punching," 9News quoted the student."They beat me till I was unconscious"
A 23-year-old Indian student was severely injured after being beaten in central Adelaide in a suspected racist attack, reports 9News. The incident has shaken the Indian student community across Australia.
The night of violence
On Saturday, July 19, at approximately 9.22 pm local time, Charanpreet Singh and his wife had parked near Kintore Avenue in the heart of the city to see the Illuminate light installations. According to police and witness reports, a vehicle pulled up beside them and five men emerged - some allegedly wielding metal knuckles or sharp objects - and demanded Singh move his car.
Without provocation, the attackers reportedly began shouting racial abuse, telling Singh to “F*** off, Indian” immediately before launching into a violent assault. Singh was punched through his car window, stomped, and assaulted both with weapons and bare fists.
"They just said 'f*** off, Indian', and after that they just started punching," 9News quoted him as saying. "I tried to fight back, but they beat me until I was unconscious."
Singh was rushed to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, where he was found to have suffered brain trauma, multiple facial fractures, a broken nose, and serious eye injuries, necessitating overnight stay and surgical intervention.
Probe launched
South Australia Police responded to reports received just before 9:30 pm and discovered Singh on the ground, severely injured. On Sunday, they arrested a 20‑year‑old man from Enfield, charging him with assault causing harm. The suspect was later released on bail as authorities continue to search for the remaining four attackers.
Police have retrieved CCTV footage from the busy precinct, which features well-lit streets and public cameras near cultural sites and the University of Adelaide.
A video of the attack has also gone viral on social media. From his hospital bed, Singh spoke to 9News about the psychological fallout, “Things like this, when they happen, it makes you feel like you should go back… You can change anything in your body, but you can’t change the colours.”
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas strongly condemned the violence, calling it “deeply disturbing” and stressing that such racially motivated attacks have “no place in our state.”
"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," the Premier said.
Another hate crime in Ireland
An Indian man in his 40s was hospitalised following what has been dubbed “mindless, racist violence” in a suburb of the Irish capital of Dublin, with the Indian Ambassador to Ireland calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
According to local reports, the victim had arrived in Ireland a few weeks ago when he was targeted in an assault at Parkhill Road in Tallaght on Saturday evening. The Gardai, as the police are known in Ireland, have opened an investigation into the case.
The ‘Irish Independent’ newspaper reported that the Fine Gael party Councillor for Tallaght South, Baby Pereppadan, met with the man on Monday and said he remains in “shock”.
"He couldn’t speak much because of the shock he was in, he only arrived in Ireland three weeks ago. He is not taking any visitors at the moment,” Pereppadan told the newspaper.
