- Sunday, May 19, 2024
Navjeet Sandhu was fatally attacked by another student when he tried to intervene in a dispute between two Indian students over rent, according to his uncle Yashvir, who lives in India’s Haryana.
By: Shubham Ghosh
IN yet another incident of death of an Indian youth abroad, a 22-year-old student pursuing MTech in Australia has been stabbed to death during a fight between some Indian students. The incident happened in Melbourne on Saturday (4) night.
Police were looking for two Indian-origin brothers in connection with the incident.
The victim was identified as Navjeet Sandhu. He was fatally attacked by another student when he tried to intervene in a dispute between two Indian students over rent, according to his uncle Yashvir who works in the Indian Army and lives in Karnal in the northern Indian state of Haryana.
“Navjeet’s friend (another Indian student) had asked him to accompany him to his house to pick up his belongings as he had a car. While his friend went inside, Navjeet heard some shouts and saw there was a scuffle. When Navjeet tried to intervene asking them not to fight, he was fatally stabbed in the chest with a knife,” Yashvir, who will retire in July, said.
Navjeet also belonged to Karnal, as did the accused, Yashvir added.
He said the family got the information about the incident early Sunday (5) morning.
Navjeet’s friend, whom he was accompanying, also sustained injuries in the incident, Yashvir said, adding that the family is in a state of shock.
“Navjeet was a brilliant student and was to join his family in July for vacations,” he said.
He said Navjeet had moved to Australia on a study visa one-and-a-half years ago and his father, a farmer, had sold one-and-half acres of their land to fund his education.
“We urge the Government of India to help us to bring the body as soon as possible,” he said.
Meanwhile, Victoria Police said their homicide squad detectives are releasing details and images of two men they are searching for following a stabbing in Ormond in Melbourne’s south-east. A search is currently underway for brothers Abhijeet Abhijeet and Robin Gartan, both of Indian descent, it said.
Abhijeet is 26 years old and described as being 170 centimetre (cm) tall with a solid build and black hair. Gartan is 27 years old and is also described as being 170 cm tall with a solid build and black hair.
It’s believed they are travelling in a stolen 2014 white Toyota Camry sedan. The pair was last seen in the Ormond area in the early hours of Sunday, shortly after the incident occurred.
Emergency services were called to a residential property at about 1 am on Sunday, following reports of a dispute, the statement said.
Upon arrival, two men were located with stab wounds. Victoria Police, however, did not identify the victims. It is understood two other men fled the scene following the incident and police are continuing to search for the pair. It’s believed the parties involved in the incident were known to each other and police are still working to establish the cause of the dispute, the police statement said. Investigators are keen to speak to anyone who knows the current whereabouts of the two men, it said.
(With PTI inputs)
