London: In yet another attack on an Indian installation in the UK, alleged Khalistani elements targeted a Punjabi restaurant located in Hammersmith, West London, according to an advocacy group.
REACH-UK, which advocates for protecting the rights of Indians and ethnic minorities in the UK, shared the footage of the attack on Rangrez Restaurant on its social media handle, urging the Met Police to take swift action against the perpetrators.
“We urge @metpoliceuk to take the cognisance of this attack on a Punjabi restaurant ‘Rangrez Restaurant’ in Hammersmith. Majority of Sikh do not follow this ideology and hence are harassed by the Khalistani separatist. Provide protection to the minorities of UK,” the REACH-UK tweeted late Wednesday.
In the video, a group of masked men can be seen banging on the windows of the restaurant, asking people to come outside and face them.
A hooded man outside the restaurant can be seen making a video, threatening and asking those in the restaurant whether they are scared.
Flagging off the Met Police and Met Police Hindu Association in his tweet, restaurant owner Harman Singh Kapoor wrote: These hooligans think we real Sikhs will back down but it is sheer cowardice to attack my eatery.
“A real Sikh does not believe in violencea this is not the way of Sikhs. We raise the sword only when needed, not when wanted! I implore my Sikh brothers to stop this violence or I will be forced to take action.”
A month ago, Singh in a video had questioned Khalistani supporters’ intetnion behind demanding freedom from India and not other countries where parts of Punjab were divided.
Post the video on Twitter, a pro-Khalistani had guided Khalistani supporters to the Singh’s restaurant location which was attacked.
The attack comes days after India summoned the senior-most UK diplomat to convey its strong protest after some pro-Khalistani groups allegedly took down the Tricolour at the Indian High Commission in London.
“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,” a Ministry of External Affairs Statement said.
The violence towards the staff at the Indian high commission is ‘unacceptable’, British Foreign Minister James Cleverly said, adding that the UK government is working with the Metropolitan Police to ensure the safety of Indian missions.
