Barricades Outside British High Commission Taken Down

NEW DELHI: The barricades around the British High Commission located in Chanakyapur and those around the residence of the UK High Commissioner were taken down on Wednesday. The British High Commission refuses to comment on the development.

A few days back, the Indian High Commission in London was vandalised by Khalistan supporters. They had taken down the Indian flag amidst the demands to end the police action against Amritpal Singh, a fugitive with a non-bailable arrest warrant issued in his name.

According to reports, the barricades protecting the office and the residence were taken down by Delhi Police on Tuesday without citing any reason. The Ministry of External Affairs had earlier summoned the seniormost British diplomat in the absence of the British High Commissioner Alex Ellis on Sunday to register a strong protest against the incident in London.

The British High Commission also saw a massive anti-UK demonstration at it gates on Monday. Protesters demanded that the authorities should increase security at the Indian mission and other key establishments of the Indian government in the United Kingdom. Both the Ministry of External Affairs and the British High Commission have denied making any comments regarding the recent development.

The ties between the two counties took a bad turn soon after the BBC, the state broadcaster of the UK, published a documentary at the beginning of the year regarding the Gujarat Riots of 2002. The Indian government had ordered the taking down of this documentary immediately. Two BBC offices in the country were raided soon thereafter by the income tax department which was called a survey by the authorities. This incident triggered a debate in the British parliament.

With the British authorities taking no concrete steps regarding the vandalising of the Indian High Commission, it remains to see what steps are taken by the government of India. Meanwhile, the crackdown on Amritpal Singh and his close aides continues in the state of Punjab in India.

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