Leicester unrest: Twelve more men arrest in connection with violence during Hindu Muslim tensions

A number of arrests have been made by police investigating incidents of 'serious disorder', which saw clashes between groups of young men from Muslim and Hindu communities in Leicester.

It comes three months after police and community leaders called for "calm" after unrest broke out on the evening of Saturday 17 September and continued for weeks after.

Leicestershire Police have confirmed twelve further men have been arrested and one voluntarily interviewed, with three men charged with disorder offences.

Detective Chief Inspector Rob Arthur who is leading the investigation team said: “We’ve been working hard behind the scene reviewing the CCTV footage and all the hours of body worn video from officers who were working and making IDs of those who may be involved.

“This work has led us to be able to make these arrests and bring these people into custody in order to get their accounts.

“It’s work that has taken time, due to the nature of it, and it’s work we’ll be continuing to carry out.”

Deputy Chief Constable David Sandall added: “Identifying the number of people that are involved is a significant investment but these arrests and charges are a step closer to bringing those responsible for the disorder to justice.”

What happened?

Major disorder broke out in the east of Leicester city centre on Saturday 17 September.

The tensions involved mainly young men from parts of the Muslim and Hindu communities.

The cause of the unrest remains unclear, although communities leaders have pointed to the 2022 Asia Cup match between Pakistan and India on 28 August.

Police have arrested dozens of people since then in connection with the disorder.