The parents of murdered Brisbane bus driver Manmeet Alisher have not yet been told he’s dead, a family friend revealed as the victim’s brother arrived in Australia from India.
Mr Alisher, 29, was burned alive with an ‘incendiary device’ – similar to that of a Molotov cocktail – on Friday while letting passengers on at Moorooka.
On Sunday family friend Winnerjit Goldy said Manmeet’s parents were very old and frail and they weren’t sure they would survive hearing the news.
“We haven’t told the parents that he’s no more, we just say it’s an accident, he’s in a coma,” Mr Goldy told the ABC.
“It’s a really hard time for us. This is a bad day in the history of Australia. It’s a country of justice and we feel we will get a justice.”
Amit Alisher was taken to the memorial for his brother at Moorooka and told reporters that his family had accepted that the attack was not a hate crime but they would like to see justice served.
“We would like to see due process, we have faith in the Australian system.”
Anthony Mark Edward O’Donohue, 48, is the man accused of carrying out the murder on the city bus. He appeared in a Brisbane court on Saturday, charged with murder, arson and 11 counts of attempted murder.
The accused’s lawyer said his client was “numb” and said his mental health needed assessment.
