Melbourne: A 33-year-old Indian-origin man in Australia narrowly survived a horrifying machete attack after being ambushed by a group of teenagers outside a shopping centre in Melbourne.
Saurabh Anand, who suffered severe injuries including a nearly severed hand, is now recovering in hospital following life-saving surgery.
Ambushed on the Way Home
The brutal incident unfolded around 7:30 pm on 19 July as Anand was walking home after buying medicine from a pharmacy at Central Square Shopping Centre in Altona Meadows. Speaking to The Age from his hospital bed, he recalled being suddenly surrounded by five teenagers while on a call with a friend.
“I didn’t hear a sound. Within seconds, they had surrounded me,” he told the publication. One of the boys rummaged through his pockets, another kept hitting him in the head, and then came the machete. “My instinctive reaction was to bring my arm up to protect my face… the machete just went through my wrist. The second attack went through my hand. The third went through the bone," he added.
Anand sustained deep cuts, a fractured spine, multiple broken bones, and injuries to his shoulder and back. Bleeding and barely conscious, he stumbled outside the shopping centre and pleaded with bystanders for help. Strangers called emergency services, and he was rushed to Royal Melbourne Hospital. Initially fearing amputation, surgeons managed to reattach his hand with screws after hours of complex surgery.
Teen Suspects Arrested, Two Released on Bail
Victoria Police have so far arrested four teenage boys. A 14-year-old from Wyndham was charged with causing serious injury and unlawful assault, and will appear before a children’s court on 15 August. Two 15-year-olds from the Hobsons Bay area, facing similar charges, were released on bail and are due in court on 11 August. A fifth suspect remains at large.
Anand, still unable to move his hand and experiencing constant pain, said he was heartbroken to learn two of the attackers had been granted bail. “I’m seeking justice. I don’t want anyone else in the community to be going through the same trauma I have,” he told The Age.
