Pro-Khalistani protestors vandalized the Indian High Commission in London and pulled down the national flag during protests on March 19. The UK Security Minister, Tom Tugendhat, has stated that the British government finds this criminal damage and assault on staff at the Indian High Commission unacceptable. Tugendhat has also noted that the government takes the security of the Indian High Commission extremely seriously and will respond robustly to criminal incidents at diplomatic missions.
Indian-origin Labour MP Navendu Mishra had asked for further information about security assessments and what steps were being taken to ensure the safety and security of diplomatic missions. Tugendhat responded that follow-up investigations were an operational matter for the police, with decisions on possible criminal proceedings to be made in conjunction with the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service. Tugendhat also noted that it is the government’s policy not to provide detailed information on diplomatic security arrangements, as doing so could compromise the integrity of those arrangements and affect the security of individuals and locations concerned.
India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) will take over the investigation from the special cell of the Delhi Police, which had registered a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. The NIA will take over the case due to unlawful activities carried out by certain people holding Indian nationality abroad. A group of pro-Khalistani protestors shattered windows at the London mission and pulled down the national flag during protests on March 19, a day after a crackdown against radical preacher Amritpal Singh in Punjab.
