A 26-year-old Indian man charged with the murder of his housemate appeared in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria on Wednesday and did not apply for bail.
Sandeep Singh Walia was arrested by Victoria police last week, after a body bearing stab wounds was found at a property in Melbourne's western suburb of Maidstone on Friday. A 21-year-old man, who was also arrested with Mr Walia, was later released from custody.
The deceased, identified as Paramjeet Singh, was an automotive student hailing from a village in Tarn Taran district in Punjab. The 26-year-old had been in Australia for over five years and shared the house with Mr Walia and other males.
A group of his friends have managed to raise approximately $18,000 through crowdfunding to cover the cost of repatriating Mr Singh’s body to India.
Speaking to SBS Punjabi, Harchand Singh Gill of Melbourne said that they are hoping to raise at least $30,000.
“We don’t know exactly how much it would cost to repatriate the body. But we intend to send the remaining amount to his family in Punjab.”
Mr Gill added that they’re hoping to send Mr Singh’s remains to India by early next week.
Mr Singh’s father Harjinder Singh had earlier told SBS Punjabi that he had to sell his agricultural land to fund his son’s education in Australia. Mr Singh said that he had no means to repatriate his son’s body to India.
Officials at the Consulate General of India in Melbourne also contacted Mr Singh’s family over the phone and have sought a report from Victoria Police.
The next date of hearing is slated for January 15 next year.
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