Indian assault 'not racially motivated'

January 20, 2010

AAP

Police hope witnesses will come forward to help them catch a couple who bashed a 25-year-old Indian taxi driver in Melbourne.

Police have released images of a couple involved in the attack in the city's north on Saturday, hoping the public can help identify the suspects from footage taken during the cab ride.

There is no evidence the attack was racially motivated, police said.

The Indian driver told police he called an ambulance and was treated for facial injuries at the Northern Hospital after the late night assault.

He had stopped at the Summerhill Hotel in Reservoir on Saturday around 1.25am (AEDT) where five people were asking for a ride.

He refused to carry them all, because of the car's legal capacity, and instead only picked up a man and a woman from the group.

Police said the woman became angry at the driver for refusing to take her friends with them.

The man then punched the driver as he pulled over on Plenty Road and continued to assault him as the couple climbed out of the cab.

The pair caught a tram and got off at a stop across the street from the Rose Shamrock Hotel, continuing on foot down a side street.

In the cab driver security camera footage, the man is shown wearing a white T-shirt with a graphic design on the front.

The woman has her hair pulled back and is drinking a beverage from an aluminium can.

© 2010 AAP