India has strongly condemned the violence against Indian community and vandalisation of a Hindu temple in England's Leicester and sought immediate action against those involved in these attacks.
“We strongly condemn the violence perpetrated against the Indian community in Leicester and vandalisation of premises and symbols of Hindu religion. We have strongly taken up this matter with the UK authorities and have sought immediate action against those involved in these attacks. We call on the authorities to provide protection to the affected people,” the Indian High Commission in London said in a statement.
According to reports, the city has been witnessing clashes between Hindu and Muslim groups, which began with the skirmishes of fans of both Indian and Pakistani cricket teams after their match in Asia Cup at the end of last month.
Leicester Police said at least 15 people have been arrested. "We will not tolerate violence, disorder or intimidation in Leicester, and we continue to call for calm and dialogue. Our police operations and investigations continue with rigour and at scale," it said.
"Things got very nasty indeed last night and I am very worried on behalf of the people who were caught up in it and I was impressed by the way police responded to it - it can't have been an easy task," Leicester city mayor Sir Peter Soulsby was quoted as saying by BBC.
Police said a number of neighbouring police forces, including the mounted police unit, had been deployed to bring matters under control. Dispersal and stop and search powers were also used to restore calm.
Police had imposed similar dispersal orders earlier this month after a few days of unrest in the wake of the India versus Pakistan match in Dubai on August 28. The police and community leaders have been calling for calm over the past few weeks, amid reports of men coming in from other cities of the UK to stoke disorder in Leicester.
With PTI inputs