India condemns violence, temple attack in UK's Leicester

India on Monday strongly condemned violence against the Indian community and vandalisation of Hindu premises in the eastern England city of Leicester as it sought immediate action against those involved in these attacksIn a statement the High Commission of India here said it had strongly taken up the issue and called for protection for those affected from the UK authorities following reports of clashes over the weekend in the city described as serious disorder by the local policeThere have been reports of clashes between Hindu and Muslim groups in the city since fans clashed following an IndiaPakistan Asia Cup cricket match at the end of last monthWe strongly condemn the violence perpetrated against the Indian community in Leicester and vandalisation of premises and symbols of Hindu religion the High Commission statement readWe 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 peopleiquest the statement saidLeicestershire Police said its operation in the east Leicester area affected by the disorder continues to prevent any further disorder with 15 people arrestedThe impact this disorder is having on our local communities is not acceptable the police said in a statementAlso Read UK Violence erupt in East Leicester post IndiaPak match 15 arrestedWe 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 saidThe force 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 calmOfficers became aware of groups of young men gathering on Sunday afternoon in the North Evington area of the city Officers spoke to them and took steps including putting in place a temporary police cordon to minimise harm and disturbance to communitiesiquest the police saidIt followed clashes on Saturday evening when the police said it became aware of a video circulating showing a man pulling down a flag outside a religious building on Melton Road Leicester and said the incident would be investigated Videos circulating on social media showed a temple flag being ripped outPolice 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 LeicesterIts mostly young men in their late teens and early 20s and I have heard suggestions people have come in to the city from outside looking for an opportunity to have a set to Its very worrying for people in the areas where this has happened said Sir Peter Soulsby Leicester city mayorThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever