Another Indian driver assaulted in Melbourne

I / Melbourne January 20, 2010, 11:00 IST

In yet another incident, a 25-year-old Indian cabbie was assaulted here by his two passengers.
 
Police have asked witnesses to come forward to help them catch a couple who bashed the driver in Melbourne. They have also released images of a couple involved in the attack in the city's north on Saturday.
 
However, there is no evidence that 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 1:25 am (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.