Khalistani supporters pull down Tricolour outside Indian High Commission in UK
A group of Khalistan supporters demonstrated outside the Indian High Commission in the UK, sloganeering with flags and posters of separatist leader Amritpal Singh. The posters, with Singh’s photo, said: Free AmritpalSingh, We Want Justice, We Stand With AmritpalSingh.
Videos on social media platforms showed a man scaling the walls of the High Commission to bring down the Indian flag to the chants of ‘Khalistan Zindabad’. India Today could not independently check the veracity of the videos posted on Twitter. The police came in to break up the protests. However, the agitators continued with their sloganeering, chanting “Indian government, shame, shame”.
Following the vandalism at the Indian High Commission, the UK High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis, tweeted his condemnation of the events. He wrote: “I condemn the disgraceful acts today against the people and premises of the Indian High commission – totally unacceptable.”
INDIA SUMMONS SENIOR UK DIPLOMAT
British Deputy High Commissioner Christina Scott was summoned to the MEA in view of the incident as High Commissioner Alex Ellis was out of Delhi, sources said.
“The senior-most UK diplomat in New Delhi was summoned late evening today to convey India’s strong protest at the actions taken by separatist and extremist elements against the Indian High Commission in London earlier in the day,” the MEA said.
“An explanation was demanded for the complete absence of British security that allowed these elements to enter the high commission premises,” it said. The MEA said the diplomat was reminded of the basic obligations of the UK government under the Vienna Convention.
“India finds unacceptable the indifference of the UK government to the security of Indian diplomatic premises and personnel in the UK,” the MEA said. It sought immediate steps to identify, arrest and prosecute those involved in today’s incident.
“It is expected that the UK government would take immediate steps to identify, arrest and prosecute each one of those involved in today’s incident, and put in place stringent measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents,” the MEA added.
In a tweet, High Commissioner Ellis said, “I condemn the disgraceful acts today against the people and premises of the @HCI_London – totally unacceptable.”
Images of shattered windows and men climbing the India House building were circulating on social media and videos from the scene showed an Indian official grabbing the flag from a protester through the first-floor window of the mission, while the protester was seen waving a Khalistani flag hanging off its ledge.
Scotland Yard said it was “aware” of an incident in the area but is yet to issue an official statement. The Punjab Police launched a massive manhunt to arrest Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh on Saturday. However, the separatist leader continues to evade the police, the cops said.