UK Police Seek Witnesses After Attack at Dussehra and Bathukamma Festivals
Two men of Indian heritage were allegedly assaulted by masked youths near Ossett Town Hall in Wakefield, prompting police to seek witnesses and investigate possible racial or religious motives.
LONDON, Oct 21: Police in northern England have appealed for witnesses after two men of Indian heritage were allegedly assaulted by masked youths following Dussehra and Bathukamma celebrations in West Yorkshire, in an incident being investigated as a suspected racially aggravated attack.
West Yorkshire Police said the assaults took place on Saturday evening after a Hindu festival event at Ossett Town Hall in Wakefield.
According to police, the first victim was leaving the venue when a suspect verbally abused him before striking him on the back of the head, possibly with a bottle. The attack left him with a head injury.
A second man was also allegedly hit on the head with a possible bottle and punched, causing him to fall to the ground and sustain facial injuries, police said.
Members of the local Hindu community had gathered at the town hall with their families to celebrate the two festivals. Organisers said the programme had been proceeding as planned until some attendees encountered groups behaving in what they described as a threatening and confrontational manner outside the venue.
Inspector Andrew Dickinson of the Wakefield West Neighbourhood Policing Team acknowledged the distress caused by the incident to those present and the wider Hindu community.
“Everyone has the right to attend community events safely and without fear,” Dickinson said, adding that police were treating the assaults seriously and working to identify those responsible.
Investigators have appealed for information about a group of youths seen around Ossett Town Hall on Saturday evening. Officers are particularly interested in speaking to anyone who witnessed the incident or saw individuals riding Sur-Ron electric motorbikes or e-bikes in the area at the time.
Organisers of the celebrations have expressed concern that the assaults may have been intended to intimidate members of the Hindu community. While the motive has not been established, they have called on police to examine whether the incident involved a hate-related or discriminatory element in addition to other possible offences.
The investigation comes amid renewed attention to hate crime figures in the United Kingdom. Official Home Office statistics released earlier this month showed a 15 per cent increase in recorded anti-Hindu hate crimes in 2025-26 compared with the previous year.
The reported rise was the same as that recorded for anti-Muslim hate crimes and exceeded the 10 per cent increase in anti-Jewish hate crimes under the category covering the perceived religion of victims.
Police have urged anyone with information about the assaults or the group involved to come forward to assist the investigation.
