After hundreds of people crowded the streets in the city’s eastern section, violence erupted on Friday night in Leicester, United Kingdom. This comes after a spate of targeted attacks on Hindus followed the Asia Cup India-Pakistan cricket match on August 28, when armed Islamists attacked Hindus and their residences in the vicinity.
On Friday, hundreds of Hindus had taken to the streets of Leicester to protest against the earlier violence by Muslims against Hindus in the area. During the protest by Hindus, the Muslim mob started indiscriminately attacking Hindus with stones and glass bottles. The protest by Hindus was disrupted by Islamists as they hurled glass bottles at the protestors. A Saffron flag was also desecrated by a mob of Islamists in front of the police.
The violence on the 17th of September erupted after a spate of violence that had gripped the city over a span of 3-4 days, starting from the 4th of September, where Muslim mobs had gone on a rampage identifying Hindus and unleashing violence against them. During the rampant violence by Islamists in the city earlier in September and on the 17th, several Hindus were specifically targeted after being identified by the display of Hindu symbols.
Speaking to OpIndia, Insight UK, a Hindu organisation bringing the issues of the Leicester community to the forefront through advocacy, said that during the 6th September violence, several Hindu houses were attacked after the Islamists identified these houses through the display of religious symbols. 6th September was the third consecutive night of attacks against the Leicester Hindu community, Insight UK told us. During this, hundreds of Muslims had taken to the streets and were attacking Hindu homes after identifying them with the display of the Om symbol, saffron flags, picture of Lord Ganesh etc.
6th Sep: 3rd consecutive night of attacks. 100s of Muslim youth on the rampage. 50 homes & cars damaged. Hindu homes identifiable by symbols like Om, Shubh Labh & Ganesh pics targeted. House gates/doors broken. Mob tried to enter house where a newly married Hindu woman was alone. pic.twitter.com/dOfOsfaWyQ
— INSIGHT_UK (@INSIGHTUK2) September 10, 2022
“Hindus of the area are living in fear. All easily identifiable symbols like Om, Shubh Labh, and pictures of Gods & Goddesses are being removed from the doors. Fear of being selectively targeted for their faith by Islamists has forced them to erase all markers of their Hindu identity”, Insight UK had tweeted at the time.
A similar pattern was observed during the recent 17th September attacks as well. During the violence unleashed by Islamists against the Hindus, who were peacefully protesting against the earlier violence in September,
During the violence, a white car was attacked by the Islamists, a video of which was widely shared on social media.
In the video, a Muslim mob surrounds a white car driven by a Hindu. Initially, the mob starts beating down on the car, trying to open the driver’s seat door. After they managed to open the door, they drag the Hindu driver out and beat him mercilessly.
There were several Islamic accounts on Twitter that celebrated the attack on the Hindu driver. One of the accounts that garnered considerable attention was that of @Itachixuchiiha.
Posting a video of the Hindu driver, soaked in blood after being attacked by Islamists, the handle tweeted a celebratory tweet with laughing emojis. In the video, the police officer was seen talking to the injured and battered Hindu while asking others video graphing him to back off.
😂😂😭 hindu coward got caught lacking. #rss #Leicester pic.twitter.com/0cBA9edi9w
— 1tachi (@Itachixuchiiha) September 17, 2022
Speaking to OpIndia, Insight UK, a Hindu organisation that is in touch with the victims in Leicester, said that the driver was targeted specifically after the mob saw Hindu symbols on the dashboard of his car.
“He was specifically targeted after the Islamists saw Hindu Gods and Goddesses on the dashboard of his car”, they told OpIndia. In fact, the Islamists tried to spread substantial propaganda even about this incident. Several Islamists had claimed that the Hindu driver was attacked because he had tried to run over Muslims with his car. However, there has been no evidence to substantiate this claim. The video only shows the driver being attacked unprovoked and beaten up mercilessly.
Another individual from Leicester also took to Facebook to say that he was attacked because there were images of Lord Ganesh on the dashboard of his car.
“We got under attack on green lane road by muslim because there was ganeshji murti on our car’s dashboard so I have question with Leicester police and Leicester government what do you have to protect hindu’s from that thing if can’t do anything then tell us we all Hindu just recpect this country reputation and rules but if you can’t give us security then let us know once we know how protect our self and how to protect our religion ok#leicestershire police”, wrote the individual. OpIndia has tried to get in touch with Mr Shyam Odedra and this report will be updated when he responds.
As per an official statement by the Leicestershire police, the violence erupted on Saturday evening after a group of men staged an ‘unplanned protest.’ “Parts of East Leicester experienced serious disorder yesterday evening (Saturday 17 September) into this morning (Sunday) when large crowds formed after groups of young men began an unplanned protest,” the statement reads.
“Officers attempted to engage with the group and remain with them whilst additional officers were called in. They sought to keep actions lawful but, regrettably, the situation led to disorder,” it further reads adding that two people have been so far arrested from the site. A total of 27 people have been arrested since the dispute began in the city.
There have been allegations of the Leicester police endangering the lives of Hindus as well. After the 28th August scuffle, the Leicester police had claimed that chants of “death to Pakistan” and “death to Muslims” were heard by the Hindus. However, it was later clarified that no chant of “death to Muslims” was raised by the Hindu community. In fact, the police had wrongly translated “Pakistan Murdabad”, which essentially means “down with Pakistan” to “death to Pakistan”. The initial assertion by the police that “death to Muslims” was chanted by the Hindus was widely circulated on WhatsApp by the Muslim organisations, leading to Muslims attacking Hindus. Hindus that OpIndia spoke to also told us that the clarification by the police, that “death to Muslims” was indeed not chanted by Hindus, was not circulated by the Muslim organisations thereby leading to targeted attacks against the Hindu community of Leicester.
