A 23-year-old Indian student named Charanpreet Singh was badly beaten in Adelaide, Australia, in what appears to be a racist attack, as reported by 9News. The incident has shocked the Indian student community across the country.

What happened?

On the night of July 19, around 9:22 pm, Singh and his wife had parked their car near Kintore Avenue in central Adelaide. They were there to see the Illuminate light festival.

Suddenly, a car stopped beside them, and five men got out. Some of them had metal knuckles and sharp objects. They told Singh to move his car and then started shouting racist slurs, saying "F* off, Indian**" before attacking him.

They punched him through his car window, pulled him out, and beat him brutally using both weapons and fists. Singh tried to fight back, but he was beaten until he fell unconscious.

His injuries

He was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital with serious injuries. Doctors found he had brain trauma, broken facial bones, a broken nose, and eye injuries. He had to stay overnight in the hospital and needed surgery.

Investigation

Police arrived shortly after 9:30 pm and found Singh lying on the ground, badly hurt. On Sunday, they arrested a 20-year-old man from Enfield and charged him with assault. He has been released on bail, and police are still searching for the other four attackers. The police have collected CCTV footage from the area, which is well-lit and near the University of Adelaide and other public places, to help in the investigation.

A video of the attack has now gone viral on social media, drawing strong reactions from people online. From his hospital bed, Charanpreet Singh spoke to 9News about how the attack has affected him mentally. He said, “Things like this make you feel like you should go back... You can change anything in your body, but you can’t change your skin colour.”

The Premier of South Australia, Peter Malinauskas, strongly condemned the attack, calling it "deeply disturbing." He said that racist violence is not acceptable in South Australia.“Any time we see a racial attack, it is not welcome in our state. It doesn’t reflect what most people in our community believe,” he said.