Indian consulate in San Francisco attacked again
In a second attack within 5 months, the Khalistanis set on fire the Indian consulate in San Francisco on Sunday. The damage was limited, and no Indian personnel was injured.
This incident occurred just months after a similar attack on the consulate in March, which resulted in severe criticism from both the Indian government and the Indian-American community. The latest incident is being seen thus as part of a chain of serious attacks on Indian facilities in the UA and there are worries that diplomats could be targeted next.
Two men dressed in dark clothing walked up to the gate of the Indian consulate in San Francisco on July 2, poured some kind of inflammable liquid on it from a container, and set it on fire in a stunning breach of security as the same facility was attacked earlier in March.
However, the fire was promptly suppressed by the San Francisco Fire Department.
Indian officials took up the incident locally with San Francisco authorities, the California government, and, eventually, President Joe Biden’s administration.
“The US strongly condemns the reported vandalism and attempted arson against the Indian Consulate in San Francisco on Saturday (July 1),” State Department spokesman Mathew Miller said in a tweet early Tuesday.
“Vandalism or violence against diplomatic facilities or foreign diplomats in the US is a criminal offense,” he added.
Indian officials have taken up the incident with US authorities, especially the FBI, which is already investigating the March attack on the same mission. No one had been arrested in connection to the incident till the filing of this report.
Khalistani separatists had vandalized the mission in March in a breach of security so serious that it was condemned by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
The attackers are understood to have taken credit for the attack in a social media post, which was taken down subsequently because of fears of being noticed by law enforcement authorities.
No one was injured in the incident because of the timing of the incident, none of the staff was at hand and it was too early for public dealings.
[With Inputs from IANS]
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