WORLD
Living under a shadow of fear since the last few days, Indians living in Birmingham expressed their outrage at the ongoing spiral of riots.
Living under a shadow of fear since the last few days, Indians living in Birmingham expressed their outrage at the ongoing spiral of riots in the United Kingdom on Wednesday.
Since Saturday, violent riots have broken out in several cities of England, with irate demonstrators setting buildings on fire and looting shops with brazen impunity.
Till now, London and other neighbouring areas have been hit by four consecutive nights of riots, looting and arson by masked youths who have wrecked shopping streets in parts of the capital.
From London to Liverpool to Birmingham, rioting miscreants have ransacked stores, carting off clothes, shoes and electronic goods, torched cars, shops and homes causing tens of millions of pounds of damage in Birmingham.
Caught in the midst of the violent unrest, Indians residing in Birmingham, voiced their dismay, stressing they no longer felt safe in the otherwise quiet town.
“No, we are not feeling safe here. We are scared. We have not slept since two nights. We do not know what has gone wrong here. Everywhere, people are fighting, they are vandalizing our shops. We are feeling very bad,” said Manmeet Singh, an Indian shop owner in Birmingham.
The riots are the worst the UK has seen for decades. British government officials have promised to prosecute rioters and have called them opportunistic criminals.
The level of violence has clearly taken the police by surprise and officers have repeatedly described the scale of the riots as 'unprecedented.' The talk is now of a tougher response.
Some 16,000 police personnel were deployed on duty in London on Tuesday night, far in excess of the 2,500 that would normally be in place with another night of widespread violence predicted.
Police also said they had arrested a total of 770 people, one as young as 11, since the unrest began.
However, many Indians remained wary of the assurances given by the police, highlighting their failure to book the violent miscreants in several cases with a palpable sense of fear.
“I am not feeling safe at all due to the events that have unfolded in the past few days. I had heard that the police in Birmingham was very effective in curbing crime, but it is being felt that it has failed to control the criminals. It cannot prosecute or take action against the culprits who have been found creating trouble,” said Suman Sharma, an Indian.
The riots began in Tottenham town of north London, after a peaceful march to protest the death of 19-year-old Mark Duggan in a police shootout turned violent.
What began as a spark transformed into a blaze of violence, spreading to surrounding regions and even to cities and towns outside the capital, London.
Meanwhile, many Indians said they were being ‘targeted’ by irate mobs because of their ‘financial prosperity.’
“Nothing is safe in this, riots and mobs like these, nothing is safe. But the Indian community, you know, is a successful community. Anywhere in the world they go, they are successful. So, they are always targeted. We are not violent people. So, they always target Indian community or the Pakistan community or the Bangladesh community,” said Harjeet Bhambra, an Indian businessman.
The unrest poses a new challenge to Cameron as Britain's economy struggles to grow while his government slashes public spending and raises taxes to cut a yawning budget deficit -- moves that some commentators say have aggravated the plight of young people in inner cities.
It also shows the world an ugly side of London less than a year before it hosts the 2012 Olympic Games.
Raima Sen mourns Bharat Dev Varma's demise, pens emotional note for 'great father, great husband'
DNA TV Show: Ahead of Maharashtra poll results, MVA, Mahayuti engage in resort politics
Maharashtra: Stage set for assembly poll results; Mahayuti, MVA confident of their victories
All set for vote counting in Jharkhand tomorrow; NDA, JMM-led alliances confident of winning
Watch: Australia star inquires Rishabh Pant about his next IPL team, gets 2-word reply
Shah Rukh Khan’s house Mannat was first offered to his industry rival…, but he refused because...
The Visionary Who Promises a Blue Sky for India: Holger Thorsten Schubart’s G20 Climate Speech
The Surge of High-End Living: Luxury Residential Market to Outpace Other Segments
FeFCon 2024 to be Held in Bangalore: A Premier Event on Fever Management
'That’s wild': Noida man turns cigarette butts into teddy bears in viral video, watch
London Airport evacuates passengers over security threat, thousands stranded
The World’s First Innovative Iron Supplement to Combat Iron Deficiency and Anaemia
Meet grandmother who became fashion icon after trying on her granddaughter’s clothes
IND vs AUS: Rishabh Pant joins Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma in elite WTC list, becomes 3rd Indian to...
'All scripted drama...': Puneet Superstar allegedly assaulted by influencers in viral video, watch
Actress Ana de Armas caught kissing Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s son in viral photos
Oreshnik's Shadow: Will Russia's hypersonic missile force west to back down?
‘You’re So Beautiful’: World’s tallest woman meets world’s shortest woman over tea, pics go viral
Delhi-NCR Air Pollution: Consequences of GRAP-4 are drastic, may have adverse effects, says SC
Delhi-NCR Air Pollution: Schools likely to stay closed till..., check city-wise update
Maharashtra: 3 killed, 9 hospitalised after gas leak at fertiliser plant in Sangli
THIS farm is selling a cup of coffee for Rs 28000, but there's a twist, it is...
Chhattisgarh: 10 Maoists killed after encounter with security personnel in Sukma
Mukesh Ambani's SUPERHIT plan for Jio users, offers unlimited 5G access for 1 year for just Rs...
IND vs AUS 1st Test: KL Rahul's dismissal sparks DRS controversy in Perth Test
Dense fog, heavy rain predicted in these states till November 25; check here
Oreshnik Hypersonic Missile: Which nations are within its range?
Bihar teacher, principal reach school in drunken state; know what happened next
'I have faced a lot of...': Arjun Kapoor REVEALS his biggest fear amid break up with Malaika Arora
How millions of Indians may get affected due to US indictment of Gautam Adani in bribery case
Amid divorce rumours with Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan says 'missing someone is okay but...'
After Bibles, watches and sneakers, Donald Trump is now selling autographed guitars, price is...
Delhi pollution: Air quality improves to ‘very poor’ category, AQI at...
Vladimir Putin's BIG threat, warns he could strike UK with new ballistic missile if...
Shillong Teer Results TODAY November 22, 2024 Live Updates: Check winning numbers here
Somebody misbehaved with Alia Bhatt on Highway sets then Imtiaz Ali had to...
Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal reveals twist behind Rs 200000 job fee, closes application window
Days after Ratan Tata's demise, Tata Group's Rs 131000 crore company inks pact with ADB for...