New Delhi: Metropolitan Police stepped up security outside the Indian High Commission in London in the wake of a demonstration called by Khalistan supporters on Wednesday, news agency PTI reported.
The extra security came shortly after the police in New Delhi removed the traffic barricades outside the British High Commission, in a move interpreted by some as a demonstration of India’s displeasure with the breach in London.
As police stepped up security, pro-Khalistan supporters staged their protest from behind barricades outside the High Commission.
#WATCH | London, UK | Anti-India protests by Khalistanis behind Police barricade. Metropolitan Police on guard at Indian High Commission. pic.twitter.com/YDYKX39Bit
— ANI (@ANI) March 22, 2023
According to reports, several vans with dozens of uniformed officers were deployed outside the building known as India House. Mounted police on horses patrolled the street and barricades were installed on the sidewalk.
The planned protest on Wednesday is reportedly “in response to discriminatory actions of the Indian Police in Punjab”.
The Indian High Commission in London has been working to counter disinformation circulating on social media around developments in Punjab, related to enforcement action against the separatist group ‘Waris Punjab De’.
“Let me assure all our friends here in the UK, especially brothers and sisters with relatives in Punjab, that there is no truth to the sensationalist lies being circulated on social media,” Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami said in a video posted on Twitter.
“The situation in your ancestral homeland is not what is being reported. The elected chief minister of the state and the local police authorities have put out detailed information, including interviews on television, please watch these. Do not believe the small handful of people putting out fiction and disinformation,” he added.
Notably, several people gathered for a “We Stand By High Commission of India” demonstration outside India House in London on Tuesday as a mark of solidarity following vandalism earlier this week.
The Metropolitan Police said its “enquiries continue” and one person has been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder.
