English
Leicester violence: According to the community leaders in Leicester, the violent clashes that broke out between Hindus and Muslims in the city were the result of “outsiders coming to the city and inflaming existing tensions” reported the Daily Mail. At least 15 people were arrested after a clash broke out among groups of young men on Sunday. The riots were triggered on August 28 after India won the Asia Cup T20 match against Pakistan, Leicestershire Police said in a statement. The arrests were made after videos went viral of mobs vandalising a Hindu temple in the area.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, a man clothed in black can be seen getting atop a building and pulling down a saffron flag amid hooting and cheering by a group of people.
The police have made 47 arrests over the weekend following the clashes between large groups of mostly young men in the east part of the city, as tensions boiled over following a recent cricket match between India and Pakistan, said other sources.
Whereas, the people of Leicester say the relationship between the two communities has been strained for months and has been inflamed by the misinformation being spread online and outsiders who have travelled to the city from nearby areas such as Birmingham, reported Daily Mail.
Police officers were diverted from the Queen’s funeral preparations in London to deal with the most recent unrest which erupted on Saturday night and continued into Sunday.
So far, one man from Leicester has been jailed for his role in the incident but police have confirmed that a number of those arrested were from outside the city. Amos Noronha, 20, was sentenced to 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to possession of an offensive weapon in connection with the violence but no further details of his crime were released.
Noronha was one of 47 people arrested across the weekend after the clashes which resulted in 16 officers being injured, Daily Mail reported. Those arrested stand accused of an array of offences including affray, assault, possession of weapons, and violent disorder.
Dharmesh Lakhani, who has lived in the city for more than 50 years and works with local mosques, says he feels it was outside influences that inflamed the situation.
He told BBC R4’s Today programme, “It’s been brewing slowly, slowly, slowly, and what happened at cricket acted as a trigger. Now my personal feeling is that if it was just people from Leicester, things would have calmed down.
“I feel there’s outside influences here and they’re not welcome. We really need just the people of Leicester, the Hindu organisations, the Muslim organisations, our authorities, the police, and our local council and we could sort this out straight away.”
