'Hand was hanging by a thread’: Indian man brutally attacked with machete in Melbourne, two accused get bail

(Trigger warning: Please note that the report contains graphical details of abuse, which could be distressing to some. Reader discretion is advised.)

Saurabh Anand, a 33-year-old Indian-origin man, is in hospital recovering from a brutal machete attack by a group of teenagers outside a Melbourne shopping centre.

The assault happened around 7:30 pm at Central Square Shopping Centre in Altona Meadows.

Anand had just picked up medicine from a pharmacy and was on a phone call when five boys ambushed him from behind, according to The Australia Today. He didn’t hear anything before the attack began.

One teen searched his pockets, another punched him until he collapsed, and a third held a machete to his throat.

When Anand raised his arm to protect himself, the blade cut through his wrist, hand, and bone.

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“All I remember is the pain and my hand was … hanging by a thread,” he said from his hospital bed.

He also suffered stab wounds to his shoulder and back, a fractured spine, multiple broken arm bones, and head injuries.

Bystanders called emergency services after hearing Anand’s screams.

At Royal Melbourne Hospital, surgeons considered amputating his hand but managed to reattach it after hours of complex surgery, inserting screws in his wrist and hand.

Anand remains in intensive care, with doctors uncertain about his long-term recovery. “I cannot move my hand… All I feel in it is pain,” he said.

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Arrests made

Police arrested four of the five teens. A 14-year-old from Wyndham faces charges including robbery, unlawful assault, and intentionally causing serious injury.

Two 15-year-olds and another 14-year-old from Hobsons Bay were also charged and are set to appear in court in August.

Anand was upset that two of the accused were granted bail, saying, “I’m seeking justice… I want this to be a catalyst for change.”

In a separate incident last week, a 23-year-old Indian man, Charanpreet Singh, was allegedly assaulted in Adelaide over a parking dispute involving racist remarks, Australian media reported.

The attack occurred on the night of July 19 on Kintore Avenue. Singh told 9NEWS that a group used racial slurs, shouted an obscenity, and then punched him until he lost consciousness. He suffered brain trauma, facial fractures, and needed overnight hospital treatment.

A 20-year-old from Enfield was arrested the next day and charged with assault causing harm. Police are still seeking others who fled the scene, per 9NEWS.

Singh expressed his distress, saying, “Things like this, when they happen, it makes you feel like you should go back. You can change anything in your body, but you can’t change the colours.”