Police decline to classify arson attack on Bolton Imam's home as hate crime
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Alex/Rose Cocker
17h ago· 6 min readenNews
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Summary
An arson attack was carried out on the home of Bolton Imam Hassan Patel in broad daylight. CCTV footage shows a masked arsonist setting fire to the family home. Despite the targeting of a religious leader, Greater Manchester Police are reportedly not treating the incident as a hate crime. Local Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi and Green leader Zack Polanski have criticized this decision, with Polanski highlighting PM Keir Starmer's silence on the matter and contrasting it with responses to similar recent crimes. The incident has shaken the local Muslim community.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledBolton Imam Hassan Patel has released CCTV footage of a masked arsonist setting fire to his family home in a shocking arson attack.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) are reportedly not treating the incident as a hate crime.
A 'serious and callous' arson attempt
An arson attack on a Bolton imam’s home has shaken the local Muslim community—yet authorities refuse to treat it as a hate crime
