Indian-origin man allegedly set ablaze in ‘racist’ Oz attack charged for false complaint

MELBOURNE - The Indian origin man Jaspreet Singh, who was allegedly set ablaze by a gang of four men outside his home in Australia, has been charged by the Victoria police for lodging a false report for financial gain.

Last month, Singh had stated to police that he was pushed against his car in the Melbourne suburb of Essendon, had petrol poured on him before he was set alight.

His car caught fire and exploded and Singh spent weeks in hospital recovering from burns over his upper body and face.

But the Victoria police is alleging that Singh was not set alight in a racially motivated attack, but he accidentally burned himself while torching his car for an insurance claim.

“Police inquiries have led us to believe that Mr Singh is in some financial difficulty and that he intended to sell his car but instead stood to gain $11,000 from an insurance claim out of this particular incident,” News.com.au quoted Detective Senior Constable Danielle O’Keefe, as saying.

Police had obtained security footage depicting Singh buying a 15-litre opaque plastic container and petrol on the day before the attack. The container and other evidence was found at his unit when he was arrested, Det O’Keefe said.

She added that Singh had been very co-operative but denied all allegations.

Police confirmed that Singh was arrested Tuesday and faced an out of sessions court hearing this morning on the charges, The Australian reports.

He was bailed to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 15 March.

The incident came in the wake of the murder of 21-year-old Nitin Garg in Melbourne.

Garg, an accounting student, was stabbed to death in West Footscray. The killing led the Indian government to issue a travel warning to students. (ANI)