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| Khalistani Tehreek: Modi government's formal protest to UK over Indian embassy's removal of tricolor by protestors |
In London, supporters of the Khalistan movement staged a demonstration in front of the Indian High Commission and tried to hoist the Khalistan flag by taking down the tricolor from the embassy building.
Authorities in the UK have claimed to have arrested a suspect in this regard, while on the other hand, the Indian government has summoned the British Deputy High Commissioner in Delhi to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and asked for an explanation on the incident.
Supporters of the Khalistan Movement had gathered in front of the Indian High Commission building in London on Sunday to protest against the police crackdown on members of the 'Waras Punjab De' group in India when one of them was arrested by the Indian High Commission. climbed onto the balcony of the building and tried to hoist the flag of the Khalistan Movement by taking down the national flag of India.
Meanwhile, the protesters kept shouting slogans in favor of the Khalistan movement.
In a video circulating on social media regarding the incident, it can be clearly seen that a supporter of the Khalistan Movement climbs onto the balcony of the building and pulls down the Indian flag outside the Indian High Commission in London. Kar tries to hoist his movement's flag but is stopped by Indian security personnel in the building.
According to the Indian news agency ANI, the Indian government on Sunday lodged a strong protest against the 'indifference' of the British government to the demonstration and attempt by Khalistani protesters to pull down the Indian flag outside the High Commission in London. Commissioner Christina Scott was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to India's official news agency ANI, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs has said that the British Deputy High Commissioner was summoned and asked to explain the absence of security and allow these elements to enter the premises of the High Commission. went India finds the British government's indifference towards the security of Indian diplomatic premises and personnel based in the UK 'unacceptable'.
According to ANI, India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that 'India expects the UK government to take immediate steps to 'identify, arrest and prosecute' all those involved in Sunday's incident and It will take strict security measures to prevent such protests from happening again.
It should be noted that since 2019, this is the worst attack on the Indian High Commission in London. In 2019, Kashmiri and Khalistan movement supporters surrounded the Indian High Commission in London and threw eggs and other objects at it.
On the other hand, Monday, was the third day of the state-wide crackdown by the police of the north-western state of Punjab against the head of the 'Waras Punjab De' organization and supporter of the Khalistani movement Amrit Pal Singh and other members of the organization. Amrit Pal Singh's uncle Harjeet Singh and the driver have arrested the police, but Amrit Pal Singh is absconding from them. 112 close relatives of Amrit Pal Singh have been detained so far.
Indian news agency ANI quoted SSP Jalandhar (Rural) Surandeep Singh as reporting that Amrit Pal's uncle and driver had surrendered on Sunday night.
According to the police, Amrit Pal Singh is still away from the police, but more than 100 people have been arrested so far. While during the operation, the police also seized several weapons.
The police have said that this action is being taken against people against whom several criminal cases have been registered.
It may be recalled that recently Amrit Pal Singh and a group of his supporters attacked the Ajnala Police Station to get one of their group members out of jail. After this, Punjab Police started this action against Amrit Pal Singh.
According to information received by BBC Correspondent Arvind Chhabra, efforts are on to arrest Amrit Pal Singh.
On the first day's operation, Punjab Police arrested Amrit Pal Singh's close friends from different places. The crackdown on him continued for the second day on Sunday, in which around 34 of his supporters were detained.
According to the news agency PTI, Punjab Police has sent four important associates of Amrit Pal Singh to Dibrugarh Jail in Assam. A team of 27 members of the Punjab Police has taken them to Assam.
Punjab is on high alert during the police operation. Section 144 is in force in many cities including Chandigarh. Police conducted flag march at several places including Ferozepur, Bathinda, Rupnagar, Faridkot, Batala, Fazilka, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Moga, and Jalandhar. The Punjab government has extended the ban on mobile internet and SMS service till Monday afternoon.
Protests have also taken place in some places of Indian Punjab against the action of the police. While Punjab Cabinet Minister Balbir Singh has said that this action is being taken under the law.