Indian student stabbed to death in Australia; police search for two Indian-origin brothers

Melbourne/Chandigarh: A 22-year-old MTech student from India was stabbed to death in Australia during a fight between some Indian students and police are searching for two Indian-origin brothers in connection with the murder.

Navjeet Sandhu was fatally attacked with a knife by another student when he tried to intervene in a dispute between a few Indian students over some rent issue, according to the deceased victim's uncle Yashvir in Karnal, Haryana.

"Navjeet's friend (another Indian student) had asked him to accompany him to his house to pick up his belongings as he had a car. While his friend went inside, Navjeet heard some shouts and saw there was a scuffle. When Navjeet tried to intervene asking them not to fight, he was fatally stabbed in the chest with a knife," Yashvir, who'll retire from the Army in July, said.

He added that like Navjeet, the alleged accused also hails from Karnal.

Yashvir said the family got the information about the incident early Sunday morning.

Navjeet's friend, whom he was accompanying, also sustained injuries in the incident, the uncle of the deceased said.

Yashvir said the family is in a state of shock. "Navjeet was a brilliant student and was to join his family in July for vacations," he said.

According to Yashvir, Navjeet had moved to Australia on a study visa one-and-a-half years ago and his father, a farmer, had sold one-and-half acres of their land to fund his education.

"We urge the Government of India to help us to bring the body as soon as possible," he said.

Meanwhile, Victoria Police said their Homicide Squad detectives are releasing details and images of two men they are searching for following a stabbing in Ormond in Melbourne's south-east.

A search is currently underway for brothers Abhijeet Abhijeet and Robin Gartan, both of Indian descent, it said.

Abhijeet is 26 years old and described as being 170cm tall with a solid build and black hair.

Gartan is 27 years old and is also described as being 170cm tall with a solid build and black hair.

It’s believed they are travelling in a stolen 2014 white Toyota Camry sedan.

The pair was last seen in the Ormond area in the early hours of Sunday, shortly after the incident occurred.

Emergency services were called to a residential property at about 1 am on Sunday, following reports of a dispute, the statement said.

Upon arrival, two men were located with stab wounds.

Victoria Police, however, did not identify the victims.

It is understood two other men fled the scene following the incident and police are continuing to search for the pair.

It’s believed the parties involved in the incident were known to each other and police are still working to establish the cause of the dispute, the police statement said.

Investigators are keen to speak to anyone who knows the current whereabouts of the two men, it said.