The ethnicity of the stabbed men has not been confirmed but both had to be admitted to hospital. Unverified videos on social media show clashes between a handful of pro-Khalistan activists and a large group of young Indian-origin men waving the tricolour on Tuesday during the traditional August 15 celebrations in Southall Broadway.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told TOI on Thursday: “At around 10 pm on 15 August, officers were policing an Indian Independence Day street event in the Broadway, Southall, when a member of the public informed them of an altercation that had taken place. They found two men, in their 30s, with knife injuries. They were taken to hospital where their injuries were assessed as not life threatening. They have since been discharged.”
Two men were arrested at the scene.
Gurpreet Singh (25), who resides in Ilford, appeared at Uxbridge magistrates’ court on August 17 charged with attempted grievous bodily harm with intent, two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent, affray, threats with a bladed article, and two counts of possession of a bladed article. He has been remanded in custody to appear at Isleworth Crown Court on September 14.
The other arrested man, in his 20s, has been released on police bail pending further enquiries.
Following the incident a Section 35 dispersal order was authorised in the area.
Video footage on social media from earlier in the evening shows a happy scene of a large crowd of PIO men and women listening to “Jai Ho” through loudspeakers and waving the tricolour. Another video shows young PIO men shouting “Hindustan Zindabad”, wrapping themselves in the Indian flag and shouting “Jai Shree Ram” onSouthall Broadway and marching past the railway station and local gurdwara, which has an image of Bhindranwale on the exterior.
But then, according to the videos, things got out of hand when a few men with Khalistani flags faced off against the tricolour-carrying crowd.A video on Instagram by “Southall’s Finest” shows four to five men, holding yellow flags with Khalistan written in Devanagari script on, facing off against a huge crowd of young PIO men holding the tricolour and then the tricolour-holding men chase after one of the men holding the Khalistan flag. The video shows the police chasing them and a group of men can be seen beating and kicking one man up as police try to intervene.
Superintendent Sean Lynch, responsible for neighbourhood policing in Ealing, said: “I recognise the enormous concern this incident will have caused, both in Southall and in the Sikh communities around London and further afield, in what was an otherwise largely peaceful and celebratory event. Our urgent investigation continues. We are aware of footage circulating on social media, with people also commenting on what they think happened. We would urge people to avoid echoing or adding to speculation. Fortunately, none of those injured were seriously hurt and there were no fatalities.”