New Delhi: A Hong Kong pro-democracy protester has said he was pulled inside the grounds of the Chinese consulate in UK’s Manchester on Sunday and was beaten up before being rescued by British police and other protesters.

Unidentified men came out of the consulate and forced a man inside the compound, before he escaped with the help of police and other demonstrators, reports BBC.

The protester said that he was dragged inside and that they beat him up.

‘Mainlanders’ – people from mainland China – the protester identified as Bob said – came out of the consulate and destroyed their posters.

“As we tried to stop them, they dragged me inside, they beat me up,” he said, adding that he was then pulled out by the UK police.

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“It’s ridiculous. They (the attackers) shouldn’t have done that. We are supposed to have freedom to say whatever we want here (in the UK).”

Bob was part of a small group, who were demonstrating on Sunday, at the start of the 20th Communist party congress in Beijing.

One police officer entered the consulate grounds and pulled the man who had been dragged inside back out, BBC reported.

A spokesperson for the consulate said the protesters had “hung an insulting portrait of the Chinese president at the main entrance”.

“This would be intolerable and unacceptable for any diplomatic and consular missions of any country. Therefore, we condemn this deplorable act with strong indignation and firm opposition,” the spokesperson added.

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Police to investigate the incident

Police in the British city of Manchester are investigating the incident of a protester being pulled inside the grounds of the Chinese consulate and beaten up.

“Greater Manchester Police are aware of an incident that took place at around 3pm on Sunday 16 October 2022 at the Chinese Consulate in Manchester,” a police spokesperson told Reuters in a written response.

Officers were present and responded immediately to diffuse the situation, the spokesperson said, adding that enquiries are ongoing at this time to understand the full circumstances.

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