Another suspected racial attack in Northern Ireland as Indian family’s car, fence torched

Another suspected racially-charged attack targeting an Indian family was reported from Northern Ireland’s Londonderry County on Friday. A car belonging to a family from Kerala was set on fire around 2 a.m.

 

 

 

The Northern Ireland Police confirmed that the car was completely torched in the incident. The arson also damaged a telephone pole and the fence of the family's residence in the Irish Green Street area of Limavady, a media report said. The police stated that an investigation into the incident is underway, and efforts are on to collect CCTV and mobile footage of the incident in the hope of a breakthrough.

 

 

 

In a similar attack targeting Indians, all the four tyres of a family's car were punctured last week, Manorama Online said in a report. In the light of repeated offences, WhatsApp groups of Malayali communities have advised their members to be vigilant. The message claimed that while it has not been confirmed as an attack against immigrants, similar issues are being reported in several parts of the country, and caution wouldn't hurt.

 

 

 

DUP Councillor Aaron Callan has come forward to condemn the incident. He reportedly stated that such acts of violence have no place in their society and that those who commit them will be brought to justice. He added that Limavady is a welcoming city for everyone and that its residents stand united against racial and sectarian violence.

 

Meanwhile, there are reports that racial attacks have been increasing recently in various centres across Londonderry County. Earlier reports had claimed that Indian youths in Coleraine were attacked while out for dinner. In the first week of last month, a group of youths unleashed an attack on a middle-aged Indian man at Belfast City Hospital railway station, Manorama Online said in a report. It is understood that the victim was a kidney patient who had undergone surgery. He faced a brutal attack on Donegal Road when he arrived for medical treatment. Although the police registered a case and investigated this incident, details regarding the progress were not available, the report added.

 

 

 

 

 

A 12-year-old was arrested in connection with a racially-charged incident on Donegal Road recently after a commercial establishment was attacked and robbed. Over five racially motivated assaults were carried out in the area in recent times, a news report said.

World