In 'tit-for-tat', Centre removes barricades outside UK Mission

New Delhi, March 22

As the Delhi Police removed barricades outside the British High Commission here in “retaliation” for the absence of security outside India’s London mission, sources said more steps were in the offing, including a close scrutiny of the British Council’s establishments all over the country.

They said the Centre felt that many missions in the Capital did not need this level of security. “The security arrangements outside the British High Commission are intact. The barricades placed on the pathway that created hurdles for commuters have been removed,” a senior police officer said. A British High Commission spokesperson declined to react, saying it was not their policy to comment on security matters.

The Centre, meanwhile, is keeping an eye on how London handles the upcoming demonstration before the Indian High Commission by activists of Sikhs for Justice, a banned outfit. The sources said the government would also evaluate London’s action against the pro-Khalistan mob that had entered the mission’s premises and tried to bring down the Tricolour.

The sources said little was done to improve the security even though the High Commission previously faced grave threats from aggressive demonstrators that led PM Narendra Modi to speak to the then PM Boris Johnson.

India also expected Australia and the US to crack down on pro-Khalistan activists who had been targeting Indian missions there, they added.