Australia on Tuesday said it will cooperate with the family of Nitin Garg, the Indian youth who was killed in Melbourne. Acting Foreign Minister Simon Crean said it will expedite the process of returning of Nitin's body back home. While Australian officials have insisted that no race angle was involved in the incident, Mr Crean said he thinks that one must await the full details of the police investigation. He also termed the delay in returning the body to Nitin's family as unfortunate. Mr Crean said the government had been in regular contact with Indian officials over the past 12 months on the issue of safety of Indian students in Australia. He added that since Garg's death, Australian High Commissioner in Delhi had also been in touch with the family.<br/>Meanwhile, Indian diplomats are expected to meet Australian officials in a bid to defuse diplomatic tension between Canberra and New Delhi following the incident. However, no date or time has been decided yet. <br/>Earlier on Monday, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna reminded Australia of the economic fallout of such attacks. He said that issuing an advisory to Indians in the aftermath of the youth's murder would be the last resort.<br/>
News On AIR | January 5, 2010 5:03 PM
Australian officials to cooperate with Nitin Garg's family