SAN FRANCISCO: The Indian consulate in San Francisco, United States, was vandalised allegedly by Khalistan supporters on Saturday.
However, no one was injured in the incident and the damage was limited, according to media reports.
This is the second attack on the Indian consulate in the city by Khalistani supporters this year. The United States has “strongly” condemned the act.
The vandalisers set the consulate on fire between 1:30 am and 2:30 am, but it was quickly extinguished by the fire department. A video, purportedly showing the consulate building on ablaze, was also circulated by some media outlets.
The US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a tweet that the US strongly condemns the reported vandalism and attempted arson against the Consulate. Vandalism or violence against diplomatic facilities or foreign diplomats in the US is a criminal offence.
The first time the consulate was attacked during the search operation for controversial Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh. His supporters then staged a protest and attacked the consulate. The incident drew a strong reaction from India.
Attack on Indian High Commission in UK
Besides the consulate in the United States, the Indian High Commission in the United Kingdom was also vandalised by Khalistani supporters then. Khalistani supporter Avtar Singh Khanda had pulled down the Indian flag atop the Commission. A self-styled head of the banned Khalistan Liberation Force and a close associate of Amritpal Singh, Khanda recently died of blood cancer.
Recently, posters had emerged in Canada, linking Indian ambassadors to the killing of Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar and terming them as ‘killers in Toronto’. India has sharply protested against this and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated that India the Indian government has asked its friendly countries such as the UK, Canada, and the US not to give space to “extremist Khalistani ideology” as it is “not good” for ties.
He added that the matter would be raised with the government of that country. India has already requested its partner countries like US, Canada, the UK and Australia where sometimes Khalistani activities happen, not to give space to these forces. Because their radical and extremist thinking was neither good for India nor for these countries and relations.
