Indian student's stabbing in Australia: Family gets visa to attend him but a new problem arises too

The family of Shubham Garg, an Indian student in Australia who recently came under a brutal knife attack in Sydney, has received a visa to fly Down Under to attend him but there is a new concern for the members now and it is the high airfare to Australia. The family has now appealed to the Indian government to help it out.

The 28-year-old Garg from Kirawali town of Agra district of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, was stabbed 11 times by a man after he withdrew money from an ATM. An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology - Madras, Garg went to Australia on September 1 to pursue PhD in the University of New South Wales in Sydney on a scholarship. His condition was said to be stable after a number of surgeries.

“Shubham’s younger brother Rohit had his medical examination done at a Delhi hospital on Friday (14). Later, he got the visa to go to Australia. He has to set off soon as the hospitalised Shubham has no one by his side,” said Shubham’s uncle Rajkumar Garg told Hindustan Times over phone.

“There is a condition that the ticket is to be booked to and fro which might cost around Rs 4 to 5 lakh which is a huge amount for us. We thus appeal to the government of India to help us meet the expenses,” he said.

“Shubham’s condition is stable and he was again operated on Friday for wounds in the stomach due to the stabbing,” the senior Garg said.

Help poured in for the Garg family after the horrific incident came to the fore. Indian National Congress parliamentarian Manish Tewari sought help from Indian external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

Noted Australian doctor of Indian origin Yadu Singh also extended help to the family and reached out to Australia’s high commissioner in India, the Hindustan Times report added.

Garg's sister also tweeted after the incident in which she tweeted top Indian leaders, including prime minister Narendra Modi.

The Indian external affairs ministry reacted to the incident saying it hoped that the issue was being dealt with seriously.

According to an Australian media report, a 27-year-old man was arrested for the attack charged with “one count of attempted murder.”