Punjab Congress president and former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh faced protest by radical Sikhs and pro-Khalistan separatists after a gathering of non-resident Indians (NRIs) in Fresno, California, on Tuesday. A video showed Amarinder being driven away in an SUV amid a melee caused by the protesters outside the meeting venue. Though there were reports of shoes and other objects having been hurled at him, there was no such thing seen in the video.

Watch video as uploaded by the group Sikhs for Justice (headline about ‘shoes hurled’ is their own):

It was reported that the incident started when Amarinder was addressing the people of Indian origin, and one of the kin of a victim of the 1984 riots wanted to question the Congress leader over his recent remarks about victims not naming fellow Congressman Jagdish Tytler for the killing of Sikhs in Delhi. But the man was allegedly asked to keep quiet by Amarinder’s supporters. As the former CM was about to leave the venue under tight security, the Sikh separatists started raising “Khalistan Zindabad” slogans.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, attorney for the group Sikhs for Justice that has been protesting Amarinder’s visit, said, “It’s unfortunate that instead of answering questions regarding his statement about Tytler’s role in 1984, Captain Amarinder took support of his henchmen and created an atmosphere of fear.”