Chief Commissioner Simon Overland has said that the permanent Indian population in Melbourne is not facing more attacks than the rest of the general public.

He said that there was a disparity between perceptions and the facts about these attacks which target Indians in the area. He expressed that the Indian students who also work part time were over-represented as victims of robberies and not in any other crime category.

He admitted that some of these attacks were due to racial hatred, and said that he had never denied that fact.

The Melbourne's permanent Indian population however was not overrepresented in the crime statistics, he added. The reason he cited is that the permanent population does not live in high risk areas and use less public transport.

Manjula O'Connor, Vice president of the Australia India Society of Victoria said that these attacks were causing fear in Indian people and it is spreading in the community. She said that the Indian community also suspects that there is a cover-up going on.

Many of the incidents were not reported due to the victim's mistrust in the police however the president of Australian Federation of International Students, Wesa Chau said that the incidents must be reported so the victim could be helped.

He also said that the crime on the rail network has recorded a decline while the robberies began to target students on railway stations and nearby areas where most Indian students live.

The government authorities were urged to take steps to stop these attacks against the students and private colleges were asked to account for how they care for their students.