'Manmeet's Paradise and Park' named after slain bus driver

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A Brisbane bus driver who was set alight and killed at the wheel one year ago, was living his dream in Australia.

Manmeet Alisher, also known as Manmeet Sharma, was a beloved Indian singer and well known in the Punjabi community.

His death prompted a huge outpouring of grief as many remembered a man filled with big dreams who moved to Brisbane from India.

Punjabi Welfare Association of Australia president Pinky Singh told ABC radio Mr Alisher came to Brisbane to start a new life with his family.

“He was very happy that was his dream,” Ms Singh said.

“When he was in India, that’s what his family said to me, all he wanted to do was come to Australia and do something, to be a star, he wanted to help people, to be there for the community.”

Mr Alisher, who was employed as a casual bus driver just a few months before the attack, was letting passengers on board when he was killed.

Supporters gathering outside a Brisbane court in January 2017

He had stopped at a Moorooka bus stop when a man set him alight in front of passengers on October 28.

Passengers trapped on the burning bus were saved when taxi driver Aguek Nyok kicked out the back door of the bus.

To mark a year since his tragic death Luxworth Place Park in Moorooka will be rededicated as “Manmeet’s Paradise and Park” during an anniversary ceremony on Saturday.

The Brisbane City Council has arranged for a memorial also to be unveiled during a small ceremony with Mr Alisher’s family.

Members of the community are invited to show support at a public memorial and prayer service at the Inala Sikh Temple between 10am and 12.30pm.