Australian police stepped up efforts to nab the killer of a 21-year-old Indian and launched a 'search and seize' operation to curb street crimes amid a spate of assaults on the community which has led to a whopping 46 per cent slump in student visa applicants from India. Inspector Bernie Edwards,Australia's leading homicide squad detective,appealed to the public for information on the murder of Nitin Garg in a Melbourne park last Saturday night. Edwards asked the killer to surrender,guaranteeing him safety. He described the murder as a "senseless act". The Victoria Police said they supported the general statements made in the recent travel advisory issued by India for its students that Melbourne had seen an increase in violence,and that this was often "accompanied by verbal abuse,fuelled by alcohol and drugs." In a bid to crack down on rising street crimes,Victoria Police has started randomly searching for weapons in some of the troubled areas. The trial 'search and seize blitz',dubbed 'Operation Omni',is made possible after beefing up of police powers and is expected to be expanded to other suburbs. Meanwhile,Acting Victoria Premier Rob Hulls met Indian High Commissioner Sujata Singh and Consul General in Melbourne Anita Nayar to reassure them that the authorities were doing everything possible to bring Garg's killer to justice and that the state is a safe place to study. Amid security concerns,Australia has experienced a decline of 46 per cent in the number of Indians applying for student visas last year,the Immigration Department has said. The total number of student visa applications from around the world also dropped by over 20 per cent. However,Department's spokesman Sandy Logan said issues of racism and violence against foreign students were not the main reasons for the slide in visa applications. It was also due to stricter and tougher scrutiny of applications and the immigration department has been rejecting a higher number of applications from India,he said. "It is correct to say that there has been a decline in the number of student visa applications coming from India," he added. India yesterday issued an advisory asking its citizens studying or planning to study in Australia to take certain basic precautions to ensure their safety. Speaking about the increased police powers,Premier Hulls said,"The tragic death of Nitin Garg in recent times confirms absolutely that we have to do everything we can to support police to wipe out street crime,to wipe out knife- related crime and that's why these powers are so important." According to media reports in Melbourne,a team of officers patrolled Footscray train station today searching for knives. Deputy Police Commissioner Kieran Walshe said police were required to give the public seven days' notice of planned search operations but other,intelligence-based,searches could be carried out without warning. People would be scanned with a metal detector wand,then frisked and body-searched if required,he said. "I am confident that these laws are going to give us a great opportunity to take weapons out of the community," Walshe said.
