Melbourne: Days after an Indian student was brutally assaulted in Adelaide, Australia, another man of Indian-origin met with the same fate outside a shopping centre in Melbourne.
Saurabh Anand (33) nearly lost one hand after a savage machete attack by a group of teenagers. It is still unclear whether he will ever get back normal use of that limb.
According to a report in Australia Today, Anand had just collected medicines around 7.30 pm from a pharmacy at Central Square Shopping Centre in Altona Meadows and was on a call with a friend, when he sensed movement but didn’t hear a sound before being ambushed from behind by five boys.
While one of the attackers rifled through his pockets, another teenager punched him repeatedly until he fell. A third held a machete to his throat. When Anand raised his arm instinctively; the blade sliced through his wrist, hand, and bone.
“All I remember is the pain and my hand was … hanging by a thread,” he recalled from his hospital bed.
Anand also suffered stab wounds to his shoulder and back, a fractured spine, multiple broken bones in his arm, and head trauma. He was rushed to Royal Melbourne Hospital, where surgeons initially contemplated amputation but ultimately reattached his left hand after hours of delicate surgery – including the insertion of screws in his wrist and hand.
Anand remains under intensive care and doctors have warned his long‑term recovery remains uncertain. “I cannot move my hand… All I feel in it is pain,” he said
The police have taken four of the five teenagers into custody. A 14‑year‑old from Wyndham faces charges including intentionally causing serious injury, robbery, and unlawful assault. Two 15‑year‑olds and another 14‑year‑old from Hobsons Bay have also been charged separately and are scheduled to appear in court in August.
Two of the accused have been released on bail and Anand expressed anguish. “I’m seeking justice… I want this to be a catalyst for change,” he said.