- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
Two men on Sunday (19) tried to set the Indian consulate in San Francisco, US, on fire, hours before the vandalism that took place the next day, said one report.
Senior Indian diplomats also informed their counterparts in the US in the wake of the act of vandalism at the consulate that they anticipate more such protests in the coming week.
The attempt to set the consulate alight took place in the early hours on Sunday and the CCTV installed at the building partially captured it, the Press Trust of India reported citing sources. It is believed that two bearded men wearing caps poured inflammable material at the entrance of the Indian mission in the US city and tried to set the building on fire. The men have remained unidentified so far.
However, their mission remained unsuccessful as the fire did not spread, perhaps due to poor quality of the inflammable material, the PTI reported citing several sources.
The consulate in San Francisco immediately took up the matter with the city police and concerned authorities at multiple levels from San Francisco to Washington DC.
However, the pro-Khalistan protesters returned on Monday (20) and vandalised the building. It happened days after the police in the northern Indian state of Punjab launched a massive manhunt for Amritpal Singh, a radical separatist leader.
They broke the makeshift barricade, forced entry inside the premises of the consulate and hammered at the doors and windows, shattered the glass panes after their Khalistan flag was removed by the mission staffers. They also defaced the building with slogan ‘Free Amritpal’.
In the process, one of the consulate employees sustained minor injuries.
The consulate and senior officials from the Indian embassy in the US lodged a very strong protest at multiple levels in the US government and the California state government.
On Monday, the Khalistani protestors pitched a tent outside the San Francisco consulate. Among those present in the protest were those who were part of the vandalism and defacing of Indian property.
The local Indian American community is outraged that the San Francisco Police have taken no action against them. Several people who came to the consulate for passport or visa services were harassed by the protestors and in some cases even obstructed from entering the premises. Multiple sources told PTI that it all started on Saturday (18) evening when a group of Khalistan activists pitched a tent in front of the consulate premises and started the protest.
Saturday evening, the separatist Sikhs defaced the wall and premises of the consulate with graffiti. Consulate employees were quick enough to remove the graffiti. All the concerned law enforcement authorities were immediately informed about it. They were told that they had information that the protest might turn violent.
Meanwhile, security has been beefed up at all the Indian diplomatic missions in the US. Separatist Sikhs have held a similar protest in front of the Indian Embassy in Washington DC. But the protest remained a peaceful one, mainly because of the pro-activeness of the Washington DC Police and Diplomatic Security. But this wasn’t the case in San Francisco, which till Monday had not deployed enough security to prevent and no action has been taken so far against those responsible for such unprecedented vandalism and defacing of the Indian Consulate.
India on Monday lodged a strong protest with the US Charge d’Affaires in Delhi over the incident of vandalism at the Indian consulate general in San Francisco by some pro-Khalistan elements during a protest. The country’s ministry of external affairs in New Delhi said the US government was asked to take appropriate measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
“In a meeting with the US Charge d’Affaires in New Delhi, India conveyed its strong protest at the vandalisation of the property of the Consulate General of India, San Francisco,” the MEA said.
(With PTI inputs)
