Indian shops and restaurants in Wembley, UK damaged in targeted attacks

LONDON: An alleged gang of Somali men allegedly terrorized shopkeepers and restaurateurs of Indian origin in Wembley and vandalized their shops in recent targeted attacks. There was an attack in Harlow last week when a gang attacked Holi revelers. Shopkeepers in Wembley thought it might be the same group of people.Bob Blackman MP, who raised the Harrow attack in parliament on Monday, said: “Thugs at the Central Mosque attacked Harrow’s annual Holi celebrations in an attempt to attack more than 1,000 peaceful worshipers. 20 attackers, one arrested… The Met has questions to answer.”The Manek Chowk Indian restaurant in Ealing Road, Wembley, was attacked twice in the past week – on March 5 and March 7. Video shows the gangsters, mostly wearing robes and face masks, attacking the restaurant and vandalizing it. Another photo showed tables and chairs overturned, with food and crockery strewn across the floor.A local PIO store owner who witnessed the vandalism said: “It started at Traders Wembley last Wednesday. Three men from Daman and Diu were beaten and bleeding in the toilet. It was a gang made up of Somali boys. Next, they targeted Manek Chowk. It was a gang of 15 to 20 people. They attacked the restaurant from the mosque area and 10 or 12 young men got out of the car and joined them and started smashing the restaurant.” They didn’t talk to anyone. They just started throwing tables and chairs. They attacked the till and broke the lights. An Indian man who tried to stop was hit with a bottle. This keeps happening after 8pm and for absolutely no reason. “Another video, taken on March 6, shows a group of masked men wearing robes pulling out fruit and vegetable boxes at the Panesar Food and Wine restaurant in Harrow Road, Wembley, throwing them to the ground and stepping on them. “They destroyed the places, took videos and then left. It looks like they were paid,” one local said.On both occasions, the gang fled after causing thousands of pounds worth of damage when police turned up.A man of Gujarati origin was taken to emergency department after being stabbed on Ealing Road on Monday night. A spokesman for Brent City Council said: “Any violence or targeted intimidation towards local businesses is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in Brent. We encourage anyone with information or footage to report it to police immediately.”