While police sought a Sikh preacher on Monday, Indian authorities expanded a mobile internet blockade throughout a state with around 30 million residents.
After similar unrest in London, Amritpal Singh supporters were seen on camera damaging the Indian consulate in San Francisco when the blackout was extended.
Police in the northern province of Punjab began a significant search for Singh on Saturday. Singh has gained notoriety recently for calling for the establishment of Khalistan, a distinct Sikh nation.
Singh’s whereabouts are unclear, according to police, who reported on Monday that they have so far detained 114 people.
A further 24 hours were added to the internet outage, which had initially been scheduled to last until Monday at noon (0630 GMT).
Videos that were published online and independently verified by AFP showed individuals breaking over barricades that had been erected outside the Indian Embassy in San Francisco.
Several dozen protesters had gathered outside while the hashtag #FreeAmritpal was spray-painted on the premises.
According to a representative, the Indian foreign ministry was carefully reviewing the videos. As Singh’s supporters vandalised the outside of the Indian High Commission in London, India said it had summoned Britain’s senior diplomat.
The “total absence” of British police, according to India’s foreign office, and “the UK Government’s indifference to the security of Indian diplomatic installations and personnel in the UK” are both unacceptable.
AFP-verified social media videos A small group of people waving yellow Khalistan flags below the man bringing down the Indian flag on the consulate’s balcony was captured on camera by Reality Check.
“I condemn the deplorable attacks today against the people and premises of the @HCI London – completely unacceptable,” British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis wrote on Twitter.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, a separatist movement for Khalistan that resulted in hundreds of deaths shook Punjab, which has around 58 percent Sikhs and 39 percent Hindus.
India has frequently protested to other countries about the actions of Sikh hardliners living abroad, who it claims are attempting to rekindle the insurgency with a significant financial push.
After one of the 30-year-old preacher’s assistants was detained for alleged assault and attempted kidnapping, Singh and his supporters, armed with swords, knives, and pistols, assaulted a police station last month.
The blatant daytime attack on the outskirts of Amritsar, which is home to the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine, left several police officers hurt and increased pressure on the government to take action.
Mobile internet access is regularly blocked by Indian authorities, especially in Kashmir’s unrest-plagued northern area.
India summons a senior British ambassador
Following the alleged vandalism of the Indian High Commission in London, the Indian government has formally protested to the British government.
According to reports, a group of people broke into the Indian High Commission in London on Sunday and forcibly took the Indian flag from the building.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “the senior-most UK diplomat in New Delhi was summoned late evening today to convey India’s strong outrage over the acts done by separatist and extremist forces against the Indian High Commission in London earlier in the day” (MEA).
The complete lack of British security that allowed these individuals to enter the High Commission premises was expected to have an explanation. In this regard, she [Deputy High Commissioner Christina Scott] was reminded of the fundamental commitments the UK Government has under the Vienna Convention,” the statement read.
“It is anticipated that the UK Government will take prompt action to identify, apprehend, and bring charges against every person engaged in today’s incident, as well as put in place strict measures to avoid the recurrence of such incidents,” MEA continued.
