Eight more people have been arrested over the attempted murder of an Indian national

05 October 2012

On Friday, 5 October two people were arrested at 00:30hrs at a residential address in Hillingdon borough. A 42-year-old man [E] was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and a 38-year-old woman [F] was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.

A further three men, [G] age 42 [H] age 30 and [I] age 37 were arrested at 01:00hrs on the street on Queensdale Road, in Kensington and Chelsea borough, on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.

At 05:00hrs three people were arrested at a residential address in Holland Park. Two men [J] age 32 and [K] age 31 were arrested on conspiracy to murder. One man age 20 [L] was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

A further three men, aged [M] 45 years, [N] 29 and [O] 28 were arrested at the same address on suspicion of immigration matters unconnected with investigation into the attempted murder.

This follows the arrests on 4 October. One man [A] age 33 and one woman [B] age 40 were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder at a residential address in Wolverhampton at approx 17:00hrs.

A further man, [C] 34ys and a 25-year-old man [D] were arrested at approx 17:30hrs and at 19:00hrs on suspicion of conspiracy to murder after a car was stopped on Heath Lane in West Bromwich.

All 15 are in custody at police stations in central London and west London.

A number of search warrants have also been executed in connection with this investigation. The searches are being carried out at a residential address in South Shields, a residential address in Birmingham and two residential addresses in London.

Enquiries are ongoing and police continue to appeal for information about the incident.

Police were called at approx 22:40hrs on 30 September to reports of a man assaulted in Old Quebec Street, W1 near the junction with Oxford Street.

The victim, an Indian national who is visiting London, was with his wife when they were approached by four men.

He was assaulted with what is believed to be a knife or sharp implement and suffered a wound on his neck. His wife was not injured in the attack.

The four men are described as being of Asian appearance, and were wearing dark clothing and long black jackets. They all had long beards. One of the men is described as younger and slimmer than the other three. They all fled in the direction of Oxford Street.

Officers and London Ambulance Service attended the scene and discovered a man, aged 78, suffering from an injury believed caused by a knife or sharp implement.

He was taken to hospital where he received treatment and was later discharged.

Detectives are keen to speak to anyone who was in the area at the time or who may have information about the incident.

In particular they want to speak to those people who assisted the wife and the victim at the scene following the attack.

Any witnesses or anyone with information can contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

The attack may have caused concern among our Indian and Sikh communities.

While we are aware that there has been a great deal of speculation about possible motivation for this attack, it would not be helpful to our investigation to comment further at this stage.

Detectives from New Scotland Yard are investigating this incident and are treating it as an attempted murder. They have maintained an open mind regarding the motive for this attack and the investigation will continue to go where the evidence leads.

Anyone who believes they have important information that may assist the investigation should ring the incident room on 101 or, if you don't want to give your name, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

If you have any specific concerns please speak to your local Safer Neighbourhood Team.