London, Mar 20: The senior-most UK diplomat in New Delhi was summoned on Sunday (Mar 19) night after the Indian High Commission in the United Kingdom was vandalized.
The senior-most UK diplomat in New Delhi was summoned late evening yesterday (Mar 19) to convey India's strong protest at the actions taken by separatist and extremist elements against the Indian High Commission in London earlier in the day, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release on Sunday (Mar 19). An explanation was demanded for the complete absence of British security that allowed these elements to enter the High Commission premises.
The protesters, who were demonstrating against a crackdown by security forces in Punjab on the Waaris Punjab De (WPD) group, shouted Khalistani slogans, and attempted to enter the High Commission, while one protester climbed up to the Indian High Commission balcony overlooking the street and brought down the national Tricolour.
"India finds unacceptable the indifference of the UK Government to the security of Indian diplomatic premises and personnel in the UK," the MEA press release said. Demanding "immediate steps" from the UK Government, the official press release from the MEA said, "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."
The British High Commissioner Alex Ellis condemned the attack on the Indian High Commission in the United Kingdom today. He condemned the "disgraceful acts" and called it totally unacceptable. "I condemn the disgraceful acts today against the people and premises of the High Commission of India - totally unacceptable," British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis tweeted.
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