‘Go back, Indian dog’: Nurse assaulted in hatecrime in Australia

Singh suffered a broken nose and heavy bleeding. He was hospitalised overnight and may require surgery. “Nobody wants to hear it… especially when you’re just minding your own business,” he told reporters. “Anyone would be hurt. I’m still traumatised. I don’t know if I’m going to go back to the gym… I’m not going to feel safe after this.”

Singh, who has lived in Australia for some time and works as a nurse, said it was not the first time he had faced racial abuse.

The attackers fled in a grey sedan. Victoria Police have confirmed they are investigating the assault and have appealed for witnesses and CCTV footage.

This latest attack has sent shockwaves through Australia’s Indian diaspora, now one of the country’s largest migrant communities with more than 8,40,000 people of Indian origin.

A pattern of rising incidents

The Geelong assault is part of a worrying series of reported racist incidents in recent months:

•      Early February 2026, Epping (Melbourne): An Indian-origin family with a newborn, toddler, and elderly members discovered multiple racist notes scattered across their front yard, including “go back to India” and “die Nazi”. They were the only Indian family in the street. Victoria Police are treating it as a possible hate crime.
•      February 2026, Glenwood (Sydney’s west): Multiple Indian-owned businesses (a restaurant, dentist and grocery store) in Glenwood Village Shopping Centre were vandalised and robbed in incidents involving crowbars and hammers. Liberal candidate and community leader Rattan Virk said racist bullying has “flooded” local Facebook pages, with comments such as “cull the whole nation” targeting Indians. “People are so scared, they do not want to go alone outside for a walk in the afternoon or evening,” Virk said. “Our old people who cannot understand the language very well cannot go outside by themselves.”
•      November 2025, Parramatta Westfield (Sydney): 63-year-old Indian-Australian engineer Bhupi was punched in the face by a woman who screamed, “F— off Indian, go back to where you come from.” He suffered deep gashes to his forehead, requiring glue and heavy bruising. A 22-year-old woman was charged with assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
•      July 19, 2025 — two brutal attacks on the same day:

◦       In Adelaide, 23-year-old Indian student Charanpreet Singh was beaten unconscious by five men during a parking dispute. The attackers allegedly hurled slurs, including “f*** off, Indian.” He suffered brain trauma and multiple facial fractures. One man was arrested.

◦       In Melbourne’s Altona Meadows, 33-year-old Saurabh Anand was ambushed by a group of teenagers outside a shopping centre. One slashed him with a machete, nearly severing his hand (successfully reattached in emergency surgery). Anand also suffered a fractured spine and stab wounds. Several teenagers were charged.

Triggered by anti-immigration rallies?

Community leaders and analysts point to the “March for Australia” anti-immigration rallies on August 31, 2025, as a turning point. Protests in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and other cities featured far-right and neo-Nazi elements, with some placards and flyers explicitly targeting Indian migrants amid debates over housing, jobs, and migration levels.

In the weeks that followed, Indians reported a sharp rise in public verbal abuse, train assaults (including one in Sydney’s west where a female student was punched, spat on, and had beer poured over her while being told to “go back home”), online death threats, and everyday harassment.

Sydney solicitor Nayonika Bhattacharya, 26, described being frozen in fear in the CBD when a man screamed “you curry muncher”, “smelly Indian” and “Mrs 7/11 truck driver” at her. “The racism feels more aggressive now,” she said. Perth content creator Agi reported receiving constant slurs, including “Tamil tiger”, “dirty monkey”, and boasts of “bashing Indians in Sydney”.

India’s High Commission in Canberra is closely monitoring the situation and has been in contact with both the Australian authorities and affected families.