Kamal Ghorui
LONDON: Gangs of suspected Somalian men have allegedly been terrorising Indian-origin shopkeepers and restaurant owners in Wembley and trashing their shops in targeted attacks of late. This follows the attack in Harlow last week, wherein a gang attacked Holi revellers. Wembley shopkeepers felt it could be the same group.Bob Blackman MP raised the Harrow attack in Parliament on Monday, stating: “Thugs from the Central Mosque attacked the annual Holi celebration in Harrow, attempting to assault over 1,000 peaceful worshippers. 20 attackers, one arrest… The Met has questions to answer.”Manek Chowk Indian restaurant on Ealing Road, Wembley, was attacked twice in the past week — March 5 and March 7. Videos showed the miscreants, most in thobes and all in face coverings, descending upon the restaurant and wrecking it. Another showed tables and chairs turned over, with food and crockery all over the place.A local PIO store owner, who witnessed the vandalism, said: “It started in Traders Wembley last Wednesday. Three men from Daman and Diu were beaten up in the toilets and left bleeding. It was a Somalian gang of young boys. Next, they targeted Manek Chowk. It was a gang of 15 to 20. They came from the mosque area and attacked the restaurant, and 10 or 12 youths got off the bus and joined them and started smashing the restaurant. They didn’t speak with anyone. They just started throwing tables and chairs. They attacked the tills and broke the lights. An Indian man who tried to intervene was hit with a bottle. It keeps happening after 8pm and is totally unprovoked.”Another video, shot March 6, showed a gang of masked men in thobes pulling fruit and veg boxes out at Panesar Food and Wine in Harrow Road, Wembley, throwing them on the ground and treading on them. “They destroy the places, video it and go. It looks like they are paid,” a local said.Both times, by the time police showed up, the gang had fled after causing destruction worth thousands of pounds.On Monday night, a Gujarati-origin man was stabbed in Ealing Road and rushed to A&E. A Brent Council spokesperson said: “Any violent or targeted intimidation of local businesses is utterly unacceptable and will not be tolerated in Brent. We encourage anyone with information or footage to come forward to the police without delay.”
