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New Delhi: A group of Khalistan supporters reportedly set Indian Consulate in United States’ San Francisco on fire. This is the second attack on the consulate in five months.
The fire was swiftly doused by the San Francisco department and no major injuries were reported, state and federal authorities said, according to a report by news agency ANI.
Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Dr TV Nagendra Prasad, Consulate General of India, San Francisco, have been targeted in a poster purportedly circulated by Sikh extremists. They have accused India of playing a role in the June killing of Khalistan Tiger Force chief and designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
A video by Khalistan supporters, dated July 2, 2023 posted on Twitter, showed the act of arson at the Indian Consulate in San Francisco, according to news agency PTI. The video, with the words “violence begets violence” emblazoned over it, also showed news articles related to the death of Canada-based Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Nijjar, one of India’s most-wanted terrorists who carried a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Canada last month. Diya TV, a South Asian broadcast TV network in the US, said in a tweet that “a fire was set early Sunday morning between 1:30-2:30 am in the San Francisco Indian Consulate.”
“The fire was suppressed quickly by the San Francisco Department, damage was limited and no staffers were harmed. Local, state and federal authorities have been notified,” it said.
The outlet also posted a video of the arson attack. A poster being shared on social media says that a “Khalistan Freedom Rally” will be organised on July 8 that will start in Berkeley, California and end at the Indian embassy in San Francisco.
The US condemned the attempted arson at the Indian Consulate in San Francisco and called it a “criminal offense”. “The US strongly condemns the reported vandalism and attempted arson against the Indian Consulate in San Francisco on Saturday. Vandalism or violence against diplomatic facilities or foreign diplomats in the US is a criminal offense,” Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the US State Department tweeted.
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