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UK vigilantes confront Indian students during night patrol, tell them to 'go home': 'This is your final warning'
The group filmed its members confronting the Indian students at Meriden Park in Chelmsley Wood, near Birmingham.
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A self-styled vigilante group in the UK has been accused of harassing Indian students and ordering them to leave a public park during a night patrol, claiming the area was meant for children and families.
According to a report by Metro, the group, which calls itself the “Chelmsley Wood Patriots”, filmed its members confronting the students at Meriden Park in Chelmsley Wood, near Birmingham. Dressed in black, the group claimed it was patrolling the area to protect women and children amid reports of missing children and rapes.
However, locals and anti-racism activists accused the group of targeting people based on their ethnicity.
In a now-deleted video, members of the group were seen questioning the young men, who identified themselves as Indian students. When one member asked why they had come to England, a student reportedly explained that he had moved to the area that day and had been in Birmingham previously. Another student said he had come to England to pursue a master’s degree and had been living in the country for two years.
One of the group members then warned the students to stay away from the park. “What you need to do is stay away from a children’s park. Do not come round here again. Do not be seen here again. This is your final warning,” he was heard saying in the video, as per Metro.
“Go back to your house yeah and stay away. Take yourself back to where you f****g live then yeah. Back to the HMO, go home, go home,” he added.
Group claims it was protecting women and children
In a now-deleted Facebook post, the Chelmsley Wood Patriots claimed its members had approached the men after spotting them in the park at night. The group alleged that its members had walked up to one man, tapped him on the shoulder and asked what he was doing there, before discovering two more men near the toilets, allegedly hiding among the trees.
The group claimed that the men gave “very different stories” about their presence in the park and said they were “politely” asked to leave. “Parks are for children, family units, not three grown men sitting in the dark filming when we have so many uncertainties at present,” the group said in its post, per Metro.
(Also Read: Indian-origin UK police officer charged with attempted rape, intentional strangulation)
Green Party condemns incident
The Solihull Green Party condemned the alleged harassment, saying there was no apparent reason for the students to have been approached other than their ethnicity. It also said it was trying to locate the men to check on their welfare.
Green council candidate Shesh Sheshabhatter told BirminghamLive that the students had done nothing wrong. “Students are allowed to meet and walk outside, and they have every right to do so. We can see no reason they were targeted other than the colour of their skin,” he said, adding, “Nobody should be treated differently because of their skin or their accent.”
“The actions of people calling themselves ‘patriots’ are tarnishing the reputation of Chelmsley Wood, the community we live in and love. Real patriotism means standing up for your neighbours, not intimidating them,” Sheshabhatter said.
(Also Read: ‘We would have had to suffer there’: Indian doctor compares healthcare in India, UK after husband falls ill)
Police responds to incident
West Midlands Police said it was aware of reports relating to the incident and that an appropriate policing response was underway.
Insp Jenny Willetts of Solihull Police told BirminghamLive that officers were aware of a group operating in the Chelmsley Wood area, as well as a social media video showing men being stopped in Meriden Park.
“Stop and search powers belong exclusively to the police acting under specific statutory legislation such as the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984,” she said.
The police added that they did not endorse, condone or encourage the group’s activities and did not work with its members. “Keeping people in our local communities safe is our priority, and we will take appropriate action when a crime is reported to us,” the statement said.
