Warning: Distressing content and images
An Indian-origin man is recovering in hospital after a brutal machete attack by a group of teenagers outside a shopping centre in Melbourne’s southwest left him with life-altering injuries, including a nearly severed hand that was later reattached by surgeons.
Saurabh Anand, 33, was walking home after picking up medicine from the pharmacy at Central Square Shopping Centre in Altona Meadows around 7.30pm on Saturday, 19 July, when he was ambushed by five teenagers.
Anand told The Age he was on the phone with a friend when he saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. “I didn’t hear a sound,” he recalled.
“Within seconds, they had surrounded me.”
He said one of the boys rummaged through his pockets while another punched him repeatedly in the head until he fell to the ground. A third teen then pulled out a machete and held it to his throat.
“They didn’t stop there,” Anand told The Age from his hospital bed.
“My instinctive reaction was to bring my arm up to protect my face and wrist. While I was trying to protect myself, the machete just went through my wrist. The second attack went through my hand. The third went through the bone.”
He was also slashed and stabbed in the shoulder and back, suffering a fractured spine, broken bones in his arm, and head injuries. “I was just trying to survive,” he said.
“All I remember is the pain and my hand was … hanging by a thread.”
Bloodied and seriously injured, Anand managed to stumble outside the centre and cry out to passers-by for help.
“I saw someone and I just yelled out, ‘I’ve been attacked. Please help me’.”
Strangers came to his aid and called triple zero. He was rushed to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where doctors initially believed they would need to amputate his left hand. However, after hours of emergency surgery—including the insertion of screws into his wrist and hand—surgeons were able to reattach it.
“The doctors say my injuries are so severe that they’re unsure how this is going to go,” Anand told The Age.
“I cannot move my hand … All I feel in it is pain.”
Police arrested four teenage boys over the violent assault and are still searching for a fifth suspect.
A 14-year-old boy from Wyndham has been charged with intentionally causing serious injury, recklessly causing injury, robbery, and unlawful assault. He was remanded to appear before a children’s court on 15 August.
Two 15-year-olds from the Hobsons Bay area were also charged with similar offences and released on bail to appear in court on 11 August. A fourth teen, a 14-year-old from the same area, is expected to be charged on summons.
Anand expressed distress at learning that two of the accused had been released on bail. “I’m seeking justice,” he told The Age.
“I don’t want anyone else in the community to be going through the same trauma I have.”
He added that he is too afraid to return home and that his partner has been sleeping by his bedside in hospital.
“I want this to be a catalyst for change, where people understand the consequences of doing this to another human.”
The attack comes amid a surge in knife crime and youth violence in Victoria. Police are currently making a record 208 arrests per day and seizing an unprecedented number of edged weapons, according to recent statistics.
In response to a spike in machete-related attacks and youth gang violence, the Victorian government has introduced tough new bail laws for repeat offenders and will implement a full ban on machete possession from 1 September.
Anyone with information about the Altona Meadows incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
Support our Journalism
No-nonsense journalism. No paywalls. Whether you’re in Australia, the UK, Canada, the USA, or India, you can support The Australia Today by taking a paid subscription via Patreon or donating via PayPal — and help keep honest, fearless journalism alive.
