Imam and Hindu friend describe 'solidarity' during Leicester disorder

Ajay Nagla and Imam Ahmed grew up together in Highfields

A Muslim leader has told how he teamed up with his Hindu childhood friend in a bid to calm tensions during a night of large-scale disorder in Leicester.

Tensions involving mainly young men from the two communities culminated in the unrest on Saturday 17 September.

Groups threw bottles at each other over police lines, including outside a Hindu temple, where Imam Ahmed and Ajay Nagla tried to "diffuse the situation".

The two men grew up on the same streets in the Highfields area of the city.

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The imam said he went to Belgrave Road to try to de-escalate the situation.

"More and more Muslim youth came... and it started to get more and more tense," he said.

"An individual came to me; he was a Muslim. He said 'I think a few people are trying to burn the flag'.

"So I went to that spot and I stopped them, and I said 'Look, what you are doing is un-Islamic, it's wrong, and I proceeded to mention the verse of the Quran which talks about the protection of places of worship."

The imam described those involved as "idiots" and said he was "livid".

Mr Nagla said: "There were a select few out of the crowd that were breaking the flags off and one of them actually got lit on fire.

"This is where Ahmed was trying to diffuse the situation. I've gone over, put one out with my hand, and the situation has escalated a little bit more."

Footage circulated online showed a flag being pulled down from the temple on Belgrave Road, and set alight

Mr Nagla said he was also involved in helping people get to their cars and homes during the disorder.

"The [restaurant] owners had locked some of them in the stores because that's what they were advised to do," he said. "Me and another imam, we reassured the owners we would help get everyone to their cars safely."

This, he said, included a mother with a three-month-old baby who was "scared to walk home".

The unrest saw 16 officers and a police dog injured, with Temporary Chief Constable Rob Nixon saying the force was faced with "significant aggression" sparked by a protest in the East Leicester area.

Another protest involving about 100 people followed on Sunday 18 September.

The disorder has led to nearly 50 arrests, 158 crimes being recorded and nine people being charged.

Leicester's mayor has blamed online disinformation for the escalation in trouble, with one man - already sentenced over the disorder - admitting he had been influenced by social media.

Reflecting on his friend being there on the night, Imam Ahmed said: "It was really good because it showed that message of solidarity."

Mr Nagla added: "We have co-existed for over four decades in Leicester and we're not going to let anyone get in the way of that."