The Australian government is playing down a travel advisory issued by New Delhi warning of the risk of violence against Indian students following the killing of an Indian man in Melbourne at the weekend.

Nitin Garg, a 21-year-old accounting graduate, was stabbed to death last Saturday while on his way to a fast food restaurant where he worked. The killing has prompted wide press coverage in India where one newspaper described the death as proof of "racist attacks on the Indian community".

New Delhi has pointed out that the number of incidents of assault on Indian students, and indeed on the Indian community at large, has been on the rise in the past few months. In its travel advisory, the Indian foreign ministry urges Indian citizens to report "complaints" to Indian diplomatic missions in Australia.

But Australian police have said there is no evidence the attack on Mr Garg was racially motivated and attributes the increase in the number of assaults on Indians to opportunistic criminals. Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard backed up the police authorities' stance and said Australia had a low homicide rate.

Last Saturday's murder, which follows a string of violent attacks against Indians in Sydney and Melbourne in 2009, threatens to damage Australia's economy. The number of Indian students studying in Australia is expected to drop by 20 percent in 2010.

Photo of murdered Indian graduate Nitin Garg by EPA