Quicksplained: Who is key accused arrested in pro-Khalistan attack on Indian mission in London?

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday said they have arrested a UK resident in connection with the attack at the Indian High Commission in London in March last year.

The attack was in retaliation to the action taken by the Punjab Police against pro-Khalistani separatist Amritpal Singh, the anti-terror agency said.

Here’s a quick look at what we know about the arrest and the attack.

Also read: Beyond Canada: How Khalistani threat is growing in US, UK and Australia

UK resident arrested in Indian Embassy attack

• The NIA arrested Inderpal Singh Gaba, a resident of Hounslow in the United Kingdom, for unlawful activities during the protests on 22 March 2023.

• According to The Print, Gaba, who hails from Afghanistan, ran a grocery, liquor, and tobacco shop called Strawberry Local Group Ltd in Greater London. He came to India last year in December, after he visited neighbouring Pakistan, as per the report. A lookout circular was also issued against him to stop him from travelling back to the UK.

• “NIA investigations in the case so far have revealed that the incidents in London on 19 and 22 March last year were parts of a larger conspiracy to unleash vicious attacks on the Indian missions and its officials,” a statement from the NIA said.

• The anti-terror agency took over the probe in April last year from the Delhi Police and a team visited London to get details of the case and interacted with officials of Scotland Yard, according to ANI.

• They procured five videos and later released them, seeking help from the general public in identifying individuals involved in the violent protests. The videos showed people gathering outside the Indian High Commission in London and subsequently indulging in violence.

• The agency received around 850 calls in response, as per the Indian Express report which cited its sources as saying. The Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) and the immigration department also helped in the identification of the suspects.

• The Indian High Commission in London was attacked in March last year by a group of about 50 people, who grabbed the tricolour flying atop the building and waved separatist Khalistani flags while chanting pro-Khalistani slogans, ANI reported.

• A case was lodged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act soon after the incident. In the FIR by an officer of the High Commission, as per Indian Express, the orchestrators of the attack were identified as Gurcharan Singh of Dal Khalsa, UK; Avtar Singh Khanda from the Khalistan Liberation Force; and Jasvir Singh. “Khanda died in Birmingham in June and the NIA is in touch with the concerned department to get his death certificate for their case file,” Indian Express quoted an official.

• After the protests, according to NDTV, the Indian community organised a gathering outside the High Commission against the desecration of the Indian flag and demanded strict action against those responsible.

• The Ministry of External Affairs also summoned the UK’s top diplomat in Delhi and demanded an explanation for the “absence of security” at the embassy.

• The Ministry further questioned the UK government’s “indifference” to Indian diplomats and said that personnel was “unacceptable,” the report said.

With inputs from agencies