Scotland: Indian envoy heckler supporter of Beant Singh's assassination conspirator
After Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK) Vikram Doraiswami was stopped from entering a gurdwara in Scotland by a group of radical British Sikh activists on Friday, a video of the encounter went viral on social media. It is now being reported that two of the three activists have been identified as Ranveer Singh and Shamsher Singh. Both of them are based in London.
Why does this story matter?
This development comes at a time when Canada-India relations are at an all-time low after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged New Delhi's role in the murder of Canadian citizen and Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in July. In a video of the incident that surfaced on social media on Friday, one of the radicals claimed they were fed up with the UK-India collusion. They also said that recent tensions following Nijjar's murder have resulted in British Sikhs being targeted.
Extremists identified as supporters of terrorist Hawara
According to the Hindustan Times, Singh was previously pictured at a shooting range with a rifle and a T-shirt demanding the release of Babbar Khalsa International terrorist Jagtar Singh Hawara. Allegedly, Hawara was involved in the conspiracy to kill Beant Singh, Punjab's 12th chief minister. To recall, human bomb Dilawar Singh Babbar assassinated the then-Punjab CM by exploding his bulletproof car at Chandigarh's Punjab and Haryana Civil Secretariat in August 1995.
Scotland gurdwara condemns Khalistani extremists
Following Friday's incident involving Doraiswami, the Gurdwara Guru Granth Sahib Sikh Sabha issued a statement saying, "Glasgow Gurdwara strongly condemns such disorderly behavior to disrupt the peaceful proceedings of a Sikh place of worship. The Gurdwara is open to people from all communities and backgrounds." Furthermore, it also revealed that the police arrived later and took cognizance of the incident.
India's response to gurdwara incident
On Saturday, the Indian High Commission in London also released a statement condemning the "disgraceful incident" to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Metropolitan Police. It also added, "Multiple community organizations, including the organizers, have formally regretted the incident and have urged the authorities to take action against the culprits."
