Scotland Yard probes video showing Sikh declaring to assassinate Queen to avenge Jalianwala massacre
London, Dec 27: A video has surfaced on social media in which a fully masked man with a crossbow, identifying himself as an Indian Sikh, is seen declaring to "assassinate" Queen Elizabeth II to avenge the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, prompting Scotland Yard to launch a probe, days after an intruder armed with a crossbow was arrested at the monarch's Windsor Castle.
The video, shared on Snapshot, is that of a fully masked man who identifies himself as Indian Sikh Jaswant Singh Chail and declares that he wants to "assassinate" the monarch in revenge for the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, according to The Sun newspaper which obtained the video.
Meanwhile, the 19-year-old intruder, who has not yet been named by the Metropolitan Police, is now being held over mental health issues.
Scotland Yard officers were investigating the video reportedly linked to the intruder armed with a crossbow arrested at Windsor Castle on Christmas Day.
The Metropolitan Police said that the arrested suspect has been sectioned under the UK's Mental Health Act after a mental health assessment and remains in the care of medical professionals .
I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I've done and what I will do. I will attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, Queen of the Royal Family, the masked man is seen saying in the video.
This is revenge for those who have died in the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. It is also revenge for those who have been killed, humiliated and discriminated on because of their race. I'm an Indian Sikh, a Sikh. My name was Jaswant Singh Chail, my name is Darth Jones, he says.
The massacre took place at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar during the Baisakhi festival in April 1919 when the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer opened fire at a crowd staging a pro-independence demonstration, leaving scores dead.
In the video clip posted on The Sun website, the 'Star Wars' film-like masked figure holds a shiny black weapon and speaks in a distorted voice.
It was reportedly sent to followers of the man's Snapchat account 24 minutes before armed security officers arrested him near the 95-year-old Queen's private apartments.
In a message sent on Snapchat alongside the video, the teenager wrote: I'm sorry to all of those who I have wronged or lied to. If you have received this then my death is near. Please share this with whoever and if possible, get it to the news if they're interested.
Police are also carrying out searches at a housing estate in Southampton, where the suspect reportedly lived with his family.
A 19-year-old man from Southampton was arrested on suspicion of breach or trespass of a protected site and possession of an offensive weapon, Met Police said in a statement.
Following a search of the man, a crossbow was recovered. The man was taken into custody and has undergone a mental health assessment he has since been sectioned under the Mental Health Act and remains in the care of medical professionals.
Enquiries into the full circumstances of this incident are being progressed by Metropolitan Police Specialist Operations, the statement added.
The police spokesman declined to comment on the identity of the person in the video.
Buckingham Palace has also declined to comment, the BBC reported.
Prince Charles and wife Camilla are spending Christmas with the monarch at Windsor Castle in Berkshire, south-east England, after she took the decision to call off her traditional Christmas at Sandringham estate in Norfolk amidst a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Officers from Thames Valley and the Metropolitan Police said they responded to the breach on Saturday morning and arrested the man from Southampton.
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Odisha woman raped twice in a day, dies after being thrown off four-storey building; 2 held
Paradip (Odisha) (PTI): A 23-year-old woman was raped twice in a day in separate places by her boyfriend and a stranger offering help and then thrown off a four-storey building, leading to her death, in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district, police said on Friday.
Police arrested both the accused and booked them under various sections of BNS for kidnapping, rape and murder.
"The incident took place on February 22 after the woman left her house with plans to elope with her boyfriend, who had asked her to come to a temple by promising to marry her. However, he took her to a secluded place, raped her and abandoned her at Rahama bus stand," Jagatsinghpur Superintendent of Police Ankit Kumar Verma told reporters.
As the victim was waiting at the bus stand, another man hailing from Jharkhand, who was heading to nearby Paradip on his motorcycle, saw the hapless woman and offered help.
He, however, took her to the roof of his rented accommodation at a place in Paradip town and raped her again, the SP said.
The accused then threw the woman from the roof of the building, leading to her death, he said, adding her body was found the next morning.
The SP said the victim's brother lodged a complaint at Paradip Model police station on February 25, alleging that his sister was raped and murdered on February 22. An unnatural death case was registered on February 23 following the recovery of the woman's body.
Earlier, in the evening of February 22, the woman's brother had lodged a missing persons case at Tirtol police station when his sister did not return home.
BJD supremo and Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Naveen Patnaik, condemned the incident and demanded justice for the woman and other victims of recent rape incidents.
"How many more innocent lives will be lost? From underage girls to differently abled young women, no one is safe. So, is the rule of law still in place in the state? The news of heinous crimes coming from Kanhari in Angul, Kuchinda in Sambalpur, and Paradip is deeply disturbing. Chaos everywhere, insecurity all around, O Mother!" he said in an X post.
"While the government delivers long-winded speeches on women's safety and law and order, the ground reality is extremely alarming. Even in broad daylight, an atmosphere of fear prevails. Despite repeated instances of such deplorable incidents, the government's failure to take any exemplary, stringent action is emboldening the criminals. The government should take proactive steps to spread awareness on women's safety and ensure the rule of law is upheld in the state," the former CM added.
