In a spate of attack that continues unabated in Australia, authorities arrested a couple on Thursday (January 28, 2010) in connection with the killing of an Indian.

Ranjodh Singh's body arrived in Delhi on Friday morning.

The Australian police said Ranjodh and the accused met during a fruit-picking season in Griffith and it was an internal dispute that led to the horrific murder.

An autopsy carried out in Australia revealed that Singh, who had been bound and had his throat slashed, had been stabbed many times and was set on fire while he was still alive.(NDTV Photo)

'Go back to India'- shouted a group of 80 Australians in Melbourne's eastern suburb of Epping before attacking three Indians with beer bottles- perhaps a grim reminder of how little things have changed on the ground despite government assurances.

While his brother demanded a severe punishment to be given to Ranjodh's murderers, his uncle was more measured in his reaction.

"We don't know who has done this. We have to believe the authorities there. Only they can find out," said Ranjodh's uncle.

Ranjodh's case, coming as it did right in the middle of a spate of attacks against Indians, was thought to be one of racist violence.

A gurudwara in Melbourne was damaged in a fire on Tuesday night.

The latest attack has angered the Indians living Down Under, who have called the incident "race-related".

However, the Australian police have ruled out any racial angle to the attack.(NDTV Photo)

Twenty one-year-old Nitin Garg, an accounting graduate who was originally from Punjab, died after he was stabbed on January 3 in West Footscray area of Melbourne. He was the first to die in a slew of attacks on Indians in Australia.

The 25-year-old student from Andhra Pradesh, Sharvan Theerthala was one of the first victims of the racial strikes in Australia. He was attacked by a screwdriver by the local teens, who also assaulted his three Indian friends in May this year.

A candlelight vigil was held in Melbourne on Monday night for an Indian student who was stabbed to death at the weekend.

21-year-old Nitin Garg was stabbed on his way to work for a night shift at a Hungry Jacks fast food restaurant in the west of the city in the state of Victoria.

On Monday night, people laid flowers and candles, and carried signs reading "Indian Students Welcome Here".

Australian authorities insist there is still no evidence that the attack was racially motivated, claiming that the country is a safe place for international students and migrants.

Australian Acting Foreign Minister Simon Crean said on Tuesday that there was still no suggestion that Garg's attack was racially motivated.
br>"It is an unfortunate, very unfortunate circumstance, but the police have continued to re-affirm the fact that there is no evidence that this is a racially-based attack," Crean told reporters in Melbourne.

Some 97-thousand Indians are among more than half a (m) million foreigners studying in Australia, an industry worth almost 12 (b) billion Australian dollars (10,8 (b) billion US dollars) a year.

India strongly condemned the fatal stabbing on Monday and said the incident could affect bilateral ties between the countries.

The series of highly publicized attacks sparked rallies against racism in Australia. The wave of assaults on international students in Australia was dubbed as "curry bashings" and Australia was termed as the "Land of racists."

"I obviously unreservedly condemn this attack," Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said. "People in Melbourne's west, people around the nation, I think they will be joining together to say we unreservedly condemn this violence."

Gillard said police should now be allowed to carry out their investigation. "This is a nation that welcomes international students," she said. "We want to make them welcome, this is a welcoming and accepting country."

A man holds up the Indian flag as Indian students rally against racism in Sydney on June 7, 2009 after a series of highly publicised attacks on Indian students in Melbourne.

'Go back to India'- shouted a group of 80 Australians in Melbourne's eastern suburb of Epping before attacking three Indians with beer bottles- perhaps a grim reminder of how little things have changed on the ground despite government assurances.

Indian family members of students in Australia and All Indian Human Rights Association members hold placards as they protest the racist attacks on Indian students in Australia during a demonstration in Amritsar on May 29, 2009.

'Go back to India'- shouted a group of 80 Australians in Melbourne's eastern suburb of Epping before attacking three Indians with beer bottles- perhaps a grim reminder of how little things have changed on the ground despite government assurances.

BJP activists hold placards and shout slogans as they burn an Australian flag during a protest in Amritsar on June 12, 2009, against racist attacks on India students in Australia. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd warned Indian students not to take the law into their own hands as protests against alleged racial violence continued.

'Go back to India'- shouted a group of 80 Australians in Melbourne's eastern suburb of Epping before attacking three Indians with beer bottles- perhaps a grim reminder of how little things have changed on the ground despite government assurances.

Mohit Mangal, an engineering student in Sydney, was beaten up with beer bottles by unidentified people on August 10, 2009. The attack came despite assurances given to External Affairs Minister SM Krishna by the Australian government that they were doing all they could to ensure the safety of Indian students there.

A candlelight vigil was held in Melbourne on Monday night for an Indian student who was stabbed to death at the weekend. 21-year-old Nitin Garg was stabbed on his way to work for a night shift at a Hungry Jacks fast food restaurant in the west of the city in the state of Victoria.

Hyderabadi student Mir Kazim Ali Khan's Australia dream turned sour after he was attacked by two people near Box Hill railway station in the eastern suburbs in June this year.

On Monday night, people laid flowers and candles, and carried signs reading "Indian Students Welcome Here".

Australian authorities insist there is still no evidence that the attack was racially motivated, claiming that the country is a safe place for international students and migrants.

There was no stopping to the list of violent racist attacks in Australia as yet another Indian student was bashed in Melbourne's eastern suburb in June this year. Twenty-year-old Sunny Bajaj was verbally abused and then punched by two men as he was about to get into his car in Boronia.

Australian Acting Foreign Minister Simon Crean said on Tuesday that there was still no suggestion that Garg's attack was racially motivated.

"It is an unfortunate, very unfortunate circumstance, but the police have continued to re-affirm the fact that there is no evidence that this is a racially-based attack," Crean told reporters in Melbourne.

Scarred for life: Sourabh Sharma, 21, came to Australia to study hospitality and he found just the opposite when six thugs confronted him on the train home to Werribee on May 9. The video footage of the attack showed one of the attackers laughing.

Some 97-thousand Indians are among more than half a (m) million foreigners studying in Australia, an industry worth almost 12 (b) billion Australian dollars (10,8 (b) billion US dollars) a year.

Thousands of protesting Indian students and supporters hold up placards at a rally in Melbourne on May 31, 2009, as Australia scrambles to contain outrage over a wave of attacks that has seen it labelled racist and strained diplomatic relations with New Delhi.