Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/MELBOURNE: Melbourne witnessed a dramatic turn of events at Federation Square, where a non-binding referendum was being held for Indian expats to vote on the independence of Indian Punjab.
The referendum asked Indian expats to vote on the question, “Should Indian-governed Punjab should be an independent country?”
Melbourne referendum
The referendum, aimed at determining whether the Indian-governed state of Punjab should become an independent Sikh state known as Khalistan, resulted in a violent clash between pro-India and pro-Sikh groups.
As tensions rose, Victoria Police were forced to deploy pepper spray to separate the two groups.
As per the police, the scuffles broke out twice according to local time, once around 12:45 pm and another time at 4:30 pm. According to a Victoria Police spokesperson, the Melbourne East Neighborhood Policing Team was continuing to investigate the incident after two men were found to be injured, with one suffering from a laceration to his head and the other with a hand injury.
