Barriers outside UK Mission in Delhi go; fresh pro-Khalistan protests in London

While there was no official word from the Government on the removal of the cement barriers, Delhi Police officers said 12 barricades were removed from both locations in Chanakyapuri. The action was taken on directions from the police headquarters, sources said.

The UK High Commission on Wednesday.

When contacted, a British High Commission spokesperson said: “We do not comment on security matters.”

Following Sunday’s violence targeting the Indian High Commission, the Government had lodged a protest by calling in the most senior diplomat at the British High Commission, Deputy High Commissioner Christina Scott.

(PTI adds: On Wednesday, around 2,000 protesters waving Khalistan flags reached the Indian High Commission in London for a planned demonstration, and hurled objects and chanted slogans amid a heightened security presence and barricades.

The High Commission countered by unfurling a second Tricolour on the roof of its building, which seemed to rile the protesters further who hurled flares and water bottles at the mission building, and at police officers and media covering the protest.

Scotland Yard reacted by further blockading the area outside India House, and several additional uniformed and mounted officers on horseback were deployed immediately to the area.

Unlike the violent disorder on Sunday, the protesters in London were barricaded across the road with uniformed officers standing guard and patrolling the area. The protesters, including women and children, had been bussed in from different parts of the UK and chanted pro-Khalistan slogans.)

In Delhi, following the removal of barricades, there were no security personnel outside the gates of the British High Commission even as two-three personnel were seen seated inside or at posts nearby. The complex has three entrances, and comprises multiple offices and buildings.

Several roadblocks, which were placed to control entry and any untoward movement, were also removed from outside the premises. “The security is intact at the commission buildings. We haven’t shifted any staffers,” said a Delhi Police officer. Asked about the removal of barricades and roadblocks, the officer said, “We received orders from seniors at the HQ and can’t comment on this.”

The British High Commissioner’s residence on Rajaji Marg also had no barricades or roadblocks on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, more than 100 people, many of them affiliated with the ruling BJP, had gathered outside the British High Commission in Delhi and protested for about an hour against the “disrespect shown to the national flag” by the pro-Khalistan activists in London. They had also demanded action against British officials for inaction and lack of security.

Wednesday’s police action in Delhi was similar to the step taken against the US Embassy in December 2013 after Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade was arrested in New York for alleged visa fraud linked to a domestic worker from India.

At the time, too, the barricades and roadblocks outside the US Embassy in Delhi were removed before being reinstated later. On Wednesday, the security cover outside the US Embassy, located near the British High Commission, remained unchanged.