SLAIN Indian student Nitin Garg will be farewelled at a funeral today after his body was flown home to his family.

Hundreds of mourners are expected to pay their respects to Mr Garg, whose body will be cremated near his family's home in the northern state of Punjab.

Mr Garg, 21, died after he was stabbed in Melbourne's western suburbs last weekend while walking through a park to his workplace at Hungry Jack's late at night.

The funeral comes as Victoria Police investigate the alleged attack on another Indian man, Jaspreet Singh, 29, who is in a serious condition in hospital with burns to 15 per cent of his body.

Mr Singh says he was doused with petrol and set alight by a group of four males after he parked his car near his home in Grice Crescent, Essendon about 2am yesterday.

But mystery surrounds the incident, which Detective Acting Sen-Sgt Neil Smyth described as "a bit strange".

He said there was no evidence it was racially motivated.

A police source has since told Fairfax Media "there are things that don't add up in the initial reports".

A police spokeswoman said the investigation was ongoing and the first task was always to establish whether a crime had occurred.

Mr Singh is recovering in The Alfred hospital with burns to his hands, face and legs.

A hospital spokesman said he remained in a serious but stable condition today.

The incident threatens to further fracture relations between Australia and India, which are already strained following a spate of attacks on Indian students.

In New Delhi, the Indian government urged the media to show restraint in reporting this latest incident, adding it was in touch with Australian authorities.

"The Indian high commissioner in Canberra and consul-general in Melbourne are following up this matter vigorously with the Australian authorities," foreign ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said.

"Under the circumstances, the media is advised to exercise utmost restraint in reporting on these sensitive issues, as it could aggravate the situation and could have a bearing on our bilateral relations with Australia."

Meanwhile, India's Overseas Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi, who is responsible for Indians working or studying abroad, reacted sharply to the latest incident, rebuking Australia for failing to prevent such attacks.

"I want to make it loudly clear that the (Australian) government should take preventive action," he said on the sidelines of a conference in Delhi.

"Why cannot they arrest them and put them behind bars and prosecute them? Surely, the Australian police must be efficient enough to mark these people.

"Our government expresses serious concerns and is waiting for results."