Police remove extra barricades outside British High Commission

New Delhi: Delhi Police have removed barricades "that created hurdles" for commuters outside the British High Commission here but the security of the diplomatic mission remains intact, officials said on Wednesday. The move by Delhi Police has come days after the Indian tricolour at the country's High Commission in London was pulled down by pro-Khalistan activists.

"The security arrangements outside the British High Commission here are intact. However, barricades placed on the pathway towards the commission that created hurdles for commuters have been removed," a senior police officer told PTI. When contacted, a spokesperson for the British High Commission said, "We do not comment on security matters."

India on Sunday night summoned the British deputy high commissioner and demanded an explanation over the complete "absence of security" after videos of pulling down of the Indian flag at the Indian mission in London during a protest by pro-Khalistan elements emerged on social media. Top British officials have said the UK government will take the security of the Indian High Commission "seriously", as they condemned as "disgraceful" and "completely unacceptable" the vandalism at the Indian mission by a group of protesters waving separatist Khalistani flags. PTI Around 2,000 protesters waving Khalistan flags descended upon the Indian High Commission here on Wednesday for a planned demonstration amid a heightened security presence and barricades. Unlike the violent disorder on Sunday when India House came under attack, the protesters were barricaded across the road with uniformed officers standing guard and patrolling the area. The protesters, including turbaned men, and some women and children, had been bused in from different parts of the UK and chanted pro-Khalistan slogans. The organisers used mikes to make anti-India speeches and attack the Punjab Police for alleged human rights violations. The speeches switched between English and Punjabi to make allegations of Indian media bias for calling them fringe elements and backed by Pakistan's spy agency ISI.

Banners for the so-called "National Protest", organised by groups such as the Federation of Sikh Organisations (FSO) and Sikh Youth Jathebandia, have been circulating on social media since before a protest on Sunday, which ended in violent disorder at India House. The Indian government had registered a strong protest over the lack of security measures at its diplomatic mission, which ended in Khalistan flag-waving protesters smashing windows of the Indian High Commission and attempting to pull down the Tricolour.