The Sikh owner of a west London restaurant who says he was arrested for defending his family after an attack on his wife and daughter has been released without charge — and is now threatening legal action against the Metropolitan Police and Mayor Sadiq Khan, as a long-running dispute over his restaurant’s non-halal policy erupts once more.
Harman Singh Kapoor, 44, who runs Rangrez Indian restaurant on Fulham Palace Road in Hammersmith, was detained for nearly 24 hours before being released on 10 May without any charges being brought against him. In a post on X that has since accumulated more than 682,000 views, Kapoor wrote: “The person who attacked my daughter, spat on my wife, and broke the restaurant’s front door was not arrested by @metpoliceuk. Why? I was arrested again for defending my family.” He accompanied the post with photographs of an SUV he claimed the attacker had arrived in.
Kapoor says the alleged attacker walked free while he — the victim’s family member — spent the best part of a day in police custody. He has announced plans to sue the Metropolitan Police and Mayor Sadiq Khan, claiming what he describes as “unfair and continuous discriminatory treatment” linked to his Sikh faith and his restaurant’s publicly declared non-halal policy. He has declined all offers of crowdfunding, telling supporters instead to visit Rangrez and “come dine.”
The episode is the latest flashpoint in a dispute that has gripped Hammersmith for months. The trouble began after Kapoor made it publicly clear that Rangrez would not serve halal meat, displaying a sign reading “Proudly we don’t sell halal” in the restaurant window — a decision rooted in his Sikh faith. As a practising Sikh, Kapoor serves jhatka meat, a method of slaughter considered religiously permissible within Sikhism that differs fundamentally from halal practice. According to Kapoor, the fallout included fake online reviews, death and rape threats, and repeated confrontations outside the restaurant.
When Kapoor announced the restaurant’s closure earlier in 2026, he cited not only rising costs but “ongoing online harassment, repeated disturbances and attacks and a lack of proper support from the Met Police.” The restaurant has since remained open, with Kapoor framing his continued operation as an act of resistance.
During a previous arrest in March, Kapoor accused the Metropolitan Police of “negligence, harassment, and false arrest,” saying he was detained because he had vowed to protect his family against what he described as criminals and radicals, and that police had “failed us on many occasions.” He was released on bail following that earlier detention.
In March, a crowd reported to number more than 100 people gathered outside Rangrez following what Kapoor had promoted as a “Non Halal meetup” at the restaurant. Kapoor posted videos describing the scene as threatening and said he had taken his kirpan — the ceremonial blade carried by initiated Sikhs — to protect his family. Under UK law, Sikhs are permitted to carry a kirpan as a religious article of faith.
The case has drawn deeply polarised reactions. Supporters argue Kapoor is exercising a straightforward right to determine his own menu in accordance with his faith, and that the police response represents a double standard in how communities are treated. Critics contend that his inflammatory language on social media — including posts describing halal slaughter as “barbaric” and “promoting terrorism” — has aggravated what might otherwise have been a more contained local dispute.
The Metropolitan Police were approached for comment.
