SHIWANI NAILWAL/VOIWORLD
Scotland Yard has detained a British Sikh man for his alleged involvement in the violent rallies by Khalistani sympathisers outside the Indian High Commission in London in March this year. The man has been taken into custody by Scotland Yard on suspicion of “violent disorder” in relation to the assault on the Indian High Commission in March.
On March 19, radicals scaled the Indian Mission in London. According to the police, the man was apprehended during a protest outside India House on Monday. He is believed to be one of over a dozen individuals blamed by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) for the attack on the Indian Mission in London. The arrest took place during a protest when a British Sikh man was seen being led away by police officers on patrol. The protest was called to demand UK government intervention over Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claims of alleged Indian involvement in the killing of wanted terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an allegation vehemently rejected by India as “absurd and motivated”.
A statement by the Met Police said, “On Monday, October 2, a man was arrested outside the Indian High Commission on suspicion of violent disorder in relation to a protest at the same venue on March 19.”. The man was taken into custody and has been bailed pending further enquiries,” the statement noted.
The man, who won’t be identified until he is charged, is thought to be one of more than a dozen people the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has linked to the attack on the Indian High Commission on March 19, when pro-Khalistan extremists scaled the building and tried to take down the Indian flag. At least one official was hurt as objects were thrown at the building and windows were broken.
To express India’s “strong protest” at the acts of separatist and extremist forces against the High Commission of India in London at the time, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned the senior-most UK diplomat in New Delhi. After Home Ministry officials met with UK representatives in the wake of the attack, the NIA took over the investigation and, in June, published images of people they believe were engaged in the violent protest.
The recent arrest comes as the police declared that they had uncovered “no criminality” connected to the blocking of the Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, from a gurdwara in Glasgow last week by pro-Khalistan fanatics. A Police Scotland spokesperson stated, “Following extensive inquiries into a report of a disturbance in the Albert Drive area of Glasgow on Friday, September 29, 2023, no criminality has been established.”
Meanwhile, on October 2, a massive demonstration was held in front of the Indian High Commission on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. During this demonstration, Gurcharan Singh, who led the group Khalsa UK, gave an anti-India and anti-Sunak speech standing in front of the HCI London and then threw the Indian flag on the ground. He disrespected the Indian flag by pouring cow urine on it while it was lying on the street. A UK policeman then put his foot on it; it is not known whether this happened unknowingly or if he did it intentionally. A courageous young man named Satyam Surana, who was present at the scene, leapt forward among the aggressive Khalistan supporters and picked up the tricolour from the ground. Satyam came from behind him, removed the policeman’s foot, and picked up the tricolour lying on the ground. Surana is an LLM student at the London School of Economics.
A video of the whole incident has surfaced on the internet. Satyam’s video where he is seen picking up the Indian flag from the ground went viral when former Advisor to UK Government Colin Bloom posted a video of the whole incident on his X handle.
