Aussie bar turns away Indian youth

Three Indiansu00a0refused entry into a Melbourne pub; cops take no action

Adding to the slew of attacks against Indians in Australia, three Indian youth were among a group of south Asians who were denied entry in a Melbourne bar. The trio called this "a case of racism".

The boys were out for a friend's farewell party. However, the group, most of whom are in their mid-20s, were turned away without any explanation from Melbourne Centre Lion Hotel bar, one of them, a Nepalese citizen, was reported as saying.

In a quote to news agencies, the boys explained that they were not drunk and were carrying proof of age but were still denied entry while others who were in the queue, were allowed in. After being told, 'you guys can't get in', the boys waited for 10 minutes for an explanation, but were not offered any.u00a0u00a0u00a0

When the group contacted the police about the incident, the police refused to entertain their complaints. A member of the group was quoted as saying that after initially contacting the police, they received a call 20 minutes later from a police officer. When they explained the situation and said that it was a case of racism, the police officer disagreed and refused to help them. He suggested that if the particular bar was not admitting them, the friends could visit another bar.

He did not offer assistance even when the boys insisted that the bar denying them entry was a slap on their dignity and their race.

One of the boys was reported as saying, "I told them this is not about this bar or that particular bar. This is about my dignity, my race...It's a case of racism."

In spite of all these attacks, authorities have been insisting that the country is "safe" place to live, study and work.

Indian cabbie assault

There might be some respite in the news of a man being sentenced to three months in jail a day after verbally and physically assaulting an Indian-origin cab driver in a Victorian city.

Forty-eight-year-old, Paul John Brogden was under the influence of alcohol when he abused 24-year-old taxi driver Satheesh Thatipamula.

Brogden pleaded guilty to threatening to kill Thatipamula.u00a0