Vivek Agnihotri surprised at 'UK Police's Navratri tweet'; ‘Who had thought…’

Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri on Friday shared a tweet apparently made by the East Leicester Police days after violence broke out between Hindus and Muslims following a recent India-Pakistan cricket match. Sharing the purported tweet in which the police seemed to have ensured strong police presence during the Navratri and Diwali celebrations, the filmmaker said, "Who had thought that a day will come when Hindu community will need police protection to celebrate their most inclusive festivals?"

"This is evidence enough that the enemy is around us and the threat is real," the filmmaker said, tweeting the post from the unverified account of the East Leicester Police. "We are encouraging people to prepare for Navratri and Diwali as normal, A visible and strengthened police presence will be there for all communities," the text of the purported police tweet said.

This comes after the Leicester violence which later spread to Birmingham where a Hindu temple came under attack. The Indian High Commission condemned the violence and raised the matter with the authorities. "Our high commission continues to be in touch with the UK side. We are in touch with diplomatic and security authorities to prevent further attacks and take action against perpetrators," ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. Foreign minister S Jaishankar raised the issue with his British counterpart James Cleverly in New York.

The UK Police made 47 arrests after the violent clashes; a 20-year-old man has been sentenced to 10 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon during clashes.