Police Commissioner Denies Gaurav Kundi Arrest 'Racially Motivated'

South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens has rejected accusations that the arrest of Gaurav Kundi, that left the Adelaide resident and father of two in a coma, was “racially motivated”.

Kundi’s arrest that has left him fighting for life has been dubbed by the Indian media as “Australia’s George Floyd moment”. 

Commissioner Stevens said that there was nothing ät this stage” to support the allegation that police placed their knee on Kundi’s neck during the arrest on Thursday May 29, 2025. 

The police have launched an internal inquiry, but there are growing calls for an independent inquiry into the incident that left Kundi unresponsive and on life support at the Royal Adelaide hospital. 

Part of the arrest was recorded by Kundi’s wife Amritpal Kaur. 

Police Investigating Arrest

According to the authorities, around 2.45 am on Thursday, May 29, 2025, “police witnessed an altercation between a man and a woman on Payneham Road, Royston Park.”

“During the attempt to arrest the 42-year-old man from Modbury North, he became unresponsive,” the police said in a statement. The man was taken to the hospital, where he remains.

“Major Crime detectives have been throughout the day investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident. This investigation is ongoing,” police said. The police have asked any members of the public who witnessed the incident or have footage to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000

Wife Disputes Police Claim

Kaur has disputed the police claim that they intervened during an alleged domestic violence incident. Kaur told 9News that her husband had been drinking at home before he started walking on Payneham Road. She followed him and urged him to get home. Kundi reportedly shoved Kaur, and she believes the police who witnessed this assumed it was a domestic violence incident. 

In the video captured by Kaur, Kundi can be heard saying that he had “done nothing wrong.”

“Yeah, he hasn't done anything, what the hell!” Kaur is heard telling the police as they try to arrest him against a police car. The video then shows the police forcing Kundi to the ground. 

“Oh my God! They are doing unfair!” screams Kaur, who said she stopped filming when police put a knee to her husband’s neck. According to Kaur, her husband’s head hit the police car. 

In another video, Kaur is heard urging the police to take her husband to the hospital as he is unresponsive. She said her husband had a heart condition and the incident could have been avoided if the police had asked them what was happening.