Sydney (dpa) – A 17-year-old was jailed Thursday over the murder of Indian student Nitin Garg in January 2010. The boy, who cannot be named, was 15 at the time of an attack that inflamed relations between Canberra and New Delhi over the perceived failure of Melbourne police to safeguard the welfare of Indian nationals. Garg, a 21-year-old accounting graduate, was stabbed to death while walking to his job at a Melbourne fast-food restaurant. There were 90,000 Indians studying in Australia at the time of Garg's death, with Melbourne the most popular host city. Visa changes have cut numbers to around 50,000. Indian students often pay for their education – which most hope will qualify them for permanent residency visas – by working part time in convenience stores, petrol stations and fast-food restaurants. They work overnight shifts and use public transport, which makes them particularly susceptible to street crime. The judge said that Garg was not attacked because of his race. The 17-year-old was sentenced to 13 years in prison with a recommendation he serve eight years before being eligible for parole. dpa sa ses BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/aIWM7 Tags: Australia, India, Murder, Student Section: Oceana, South Asia
