India has complained to the Foreign Office after a top diplomat was confronted by protesters at a gurdwara in Glasgow.
The High Commission of India said Vikram Doraiswami had been invited to the place of worship to discuss community and consular issues.
But he left after he was confronted by a small number of activists on Friday.
A Sikh youth group later claimed there was a longstanding ban on Indian officials visiting gurdwaras.
The confrontation follows an international row over suggestions that Indian agents may be linked to the murder of a Sikh separatist in Canada.
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India has strongly rejected the claim by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that there is "credible evidence" of Indian
involvement in the shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in
June.
The incident in Glasgow
came during a series of engagements in Scotland by Mr Doraiswami, who is
India's High Commissioner to the UK.
Footage posted on social
media shows him being approached by three people after his car pulled up
outside the gurdwara in Glasgow's Albert Drive.
He remains seated in the back
of the car while one of the demonstrators appears to make an attempt to open
the door.
Another protester can be
heard saying: "I think it's best if you go."
The diplomat was then
driven away.
A statement issued later by the National Sikh Youth Federation on behalf of "major Sikh bodies" said
the three activists had upheld "a long-standing ban on Indian officials
visiting gurdwaras in their official capacity".
It went on to include an
account of the incident, said to have been issued by the activists themselves,
which said: "We went to prevent their entry and ask them questions, they
left rapidly from the car park."
They denied carrying out
any kind of assault.
'Disgraceful incident'
The High Commission of
India said the diplomat had been invited to the building by the Gurdwara
committee, and that the organisers included community leaders and an MSP.
"They were threatened
and abused by these elements. In an effort to prevent any potential altercation
the HC [High Commissioner] and CG [Consul General] decided to leave the
premises on their arrival," it said in a statement.
The High Commission said it
had reported the "disgraceful incident" to the Foreign Office and the
police.
It said the three activists
were not from Scotland.
Foreign Office minister
Anne-Marie Trevelyan posted on X, formerly Twitter, that she was
"concerned" by the incident.
"The safety and
security of foreign diplomats is of utmost importance and our places of worship
in the UK must be open to all," she posted.
The Glasgow gurdwara said
it strongly condemned the "disorderly behavior" which caused Mr
Doraiswami to abandon his planned visit.
"The Gurdwara is open
to people from all communities and backgrounds, and we welcome everyone openly
as per our principles of faith," it said.
Police Scotland confirmed
that it had been called to reports of a disturbance at the gurdwara at 13:05 on
Friday.
"There were no reports of any injuries and inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances," a spokesperson said.
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