Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed concern over the death of an Indian-origin bus driver killed by an incendiary device thrown into his bus in Brisbane, Australia, last week.
Modi called Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull late on Sunday to discuss the death of Manmeet Alisher, 29, from Punjab, who was the only fatality in Friday’s attack at a bus stop.
“The matter, of course, is being closely investigated and I will keep him informed as the results of the investigation arise,” Turnbull told reporters yesterday.
A 48-year-old man appeared in a Brisbane court on Saturday and is facing charges related to murder, attempted murder and arson, Australian media reported.
A taxi driver who helped passengers escape from the bus has been hailed as a hero in media reports.
Aguek Nyok told the Nine Network he kicked in the back door of the bus after the attack.
“People were trying to get out and they couldn’t, so I went and I kicked the door. I did about three attempts to break it,” he said.
Some passengers suffered burns and were treated at the scene, media reports said.
More than 1,000 people, including taxi drivers and members of Brisbane’s Indian community, paid their respects to Alisher at a memorial on the weekend.
Alisher’s brother Amit was issued an emergency visa and arrived in Australia on Sunday to escort his brother’s body home, but was too upset to speak to the media.
But a family friend who accompanied Amit to Australia said Alisher’s elderly parents have not yet been told he was dead.
“We haven’t told the parents that he’s no more, we just say it’s an accident, he’s in a coma,” Winnerjit Goldy said.
“It’s a really hard time for us. This is a bad day in the history of Australia. It’s a country of justice and we feel we will get a justice.”
Queensland Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe has said he would be glad to meet Alisher’s family.
“I would be happy to meet with any of the family of Manmeet Alisher,” Hinchliffe said .
“This is a very shocking incident that has genuinely rocked the public transport world.”
Hinchliffe said he had met with many of Alisher’s colleagues from the Sherwood and Toowoong bus depots and they were still in shock.
Hinchliffe declined to comment on whether the incident was racially motivated, but called for all bus drivers to be shown respect.
“The advice that I have been receiving is that all of our public transport workers, including our bus drivers, should not feel that this is a matter that’s targeted at them in particular,” he said.
“I think it’s really timely that we all treat, in whatever circumstances, frontline public transport workers like our bus drivers with great respect.”
A current review of bus driver safety will include the incident.
Alisher was employed as a casual bus driver and had only been working in the job for several months before Friday’s attack.
Attacks on Indians in Australia have been given widespread coverage since a series of high-profile murders and robberies around 2009.