Top cop blasts Indian student spokesman

The voice of Melbourne's Indian students has been discredited by the state's police
chief as thousands across Australia gathered in a show of solidarity with the Indian
community.
Over the past two years, Gautam Gupta has been a frequent commentator and spokesman
for the Federation of Indian Students of Australia amid a spate of violent and
racist attacks in Victoria.
But on Wednesday, Victoria's Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland said he had
stopped listening to Mr Gupta.
"I don't think Mr Gupta has played a very constructive role in trying to deal with
this issue," he told reporters in Melbourne's Carlton Gardens at one of hundreds of
Vindaloo Against Violence events across Australia.
The grassroots protest was started last month by Melbourne graphic designer Mia
Northrop who wanted Australians to take a stand against racial violence by eating at
their local Indian restaurant.
But when asked of Mr Gupta's criticism that the campaign would not deliver any
support to real victims of crime, Mr Overland said he no longer believed Mr Gupta
was representative of the Indian student population.
"Who? How many? How many have made the criticism? I've heard it from one source," he
said.
"I'm reluctant to respond to a broad-based question if in fact it's sourced from an
individual who I don't think has played a very constructive role in this broader
issue."
Mr Gupta said Mr Overland had suffered an "emotional" outburst.
"Why is he singling me out? I'm really confused," he told AAP.
"I think this is a case of shoot the messenger. If you don't like the message, then
shoot the messenger."
Mr Gupta said he supported the Vindaloo protest but was simply pointing out that
photo opportunities and feel-good stories don't address real problems.
"Symbolism is important and it is a good event ... but we want some action," he said.
"A 10 dollar curry cannot solve the problem. We need police on the beat, we need
community resources."
The feud emerged as 100 people joined Mr Overland for an Indian curry in Carlton
Gardens.
"This shows that most people don't feel that way," diner Amanda Spillare said of the
attacks on Indians.
That message was repeated at over 400 restaurants across Melbourne for lunch and
dinner, including in Toorak where Ms Northrop was cheered and applauded by Melbourne
high school students.
Ms Northrop said she never expected a Facebook event she sent to 100 friends in
January to grow into 17,000 confirmed guests and attract attention from schools and
workplaces across the country.
The 35-year-old said she was aware of criticism of her idea but didn't want to
complicate the planning of the event by including fundraising at this time.
Indian restaurants around Melbourne reported a massive surge in business on
Wednesday, while Queensland parliament only had curries on its lunchtime menus.