A 'Hindu Safety Forum' is to be set up by Scotland Yard, as a result of the first Hindu Security Conference, organised by the Hindu Forum of Britain and the National Hindu Students Forum, and attended by representatives of the Metropolitan Police. The conference took place on the 22nd February, at the London School of Economics, and was attended by around 160 delegates.

Top of the list of Hindu concerns was the lack of security for culture specific issues which most police officers would not be able to understand and therefore be reluctant to intervene in. There was also an under-reporting of hate crime and a concern over the impact of indiscriminate 'stop and search' policies.

However, the most commonly cited issue was confrontation with radical Muslims, who have often harassed the Hindu community in various ways, including vandalism of temples, entering events where they act aggressively and attempts to aggressively convert Hindus.

Ramesh Khallidai, general secretary of the Hindu Forum of Britain said "There is a lot of passion and resentment in the Hindu and Sikh community over aggressive conversions and intimidation on university campuses".

"Extremist Muslims make life completely miserable for Hindu girls. Some are completely petrified because they are constantly being phoned up, having their door knocked. They feel these men have a complete hold on them. One girl was beaten up on the street and others have been forced to leave university."

It was also pointed out that Hindu opinion was becoming more radicalised as a reaction to being pushed into a corner by such treatment, which has the potential to lead to a security nightmare.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "The Commissioner told attendees that the Met understood the feeling in the Hindu community that police had not given them as much attention as some other groups and gave reassurance that their concerns are taken seriously.

"Neighbourhood police officers work with university authorities in London and we would encourage anyone who has been targeted in this way to seek help and support and where necessary use third party reporting facilities if they do not want to contact police directly."

Speakers and panelists at the conference included Tony McNulty MP, Minister for State for Security and Policing Dr Rob Berkeley, Deputy Director of the Runnymede Trust, Raj Joshi, the senior-most Hindu serving in the Crown Prosecution Service, Commander Rod Jarman, Cllr Richard Barnes from the Metropolitan Police Association and Chief Superintendent Steve Jordan, Security Lead on the Commission of Integration and Cohesion.