London Police nab 2 activists in attacking Indian embassy office

Hyderabad: The London police on Wednesday arrested two people in connection with damaging the Indian Embassy. The protests by thousands of British Pakistanis against scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) continued for the second day in London. On Wednesday, these protests took their ugly turn as protesters proceeded to smash windows of the Indian High Commission and cause chaos on the streets of the British capital. This is the second time in less than a month that the Indian embassy in London has been targeted by unruly protesters. The High Commission of India lodged a criminal complaint shortly afterwards with the police over a broken window and damage to the walls.

News agency ANI in a tweet said that “United Kingdom: Two people have been arrested by police in connection with the violent protest outside Indian High Commissioner in London yesterday.”

Few British Kashmiri groups mostly from POK and Pakistan organised ‘Kashmir Freedom March’ here. Shouting “we want freedom,” the protest rally went from Parliament Square past Downing Street to the Indian High Commission building led by some UK Labour MPs. Protesters carried Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) and Khalistan flags and placards.

Responding on this, the Indian High Commission tweeted: “Another violent protest outside the Indian High Commission in London today, 3 September 2019. Damage caused to the premises.” The Indian High Commission had also shared a photo of the damaged window pane on Twitter.

Responding to the tweet by India in the UK, London Mayor Sadiq Khan condemned the violent protests, saying it was ‘unacceptable.’

“I utterly condemn this unacceptable behaviour and have raised this incident with @metpoliceuk to take action,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted.