Indians protest against drug ‘taint’

Several hundred persons belonging to the Indian community have held a rally in Decatur, Georgia, to protest against the charges of supplying methamphetamine ingredients levelled by the federal authorities against dozens of South Asian convenience stores, alleging they were racially biased.

In June 2005, federal agents had arrested 49 persons, including 44 Indians, many with the surname Patel, and charged 16 corporations, most of them in northwest Georgia, in what has come to be known as ‘Operation Meth Merchant.’ They and the stores were charged with selling products to make methamphetamine. Many of the charges have been dropped, some have resulted in guilty pleas and others are yet to be posted for trial.

Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, and activists have said that federal authorities were selectively targeting retailers with Indian names.

‘‘We are not coming from a criminal background. We have thousands of years of culture and civilisation and we do not know what this drug is about,’’ Georgia’s Asian-American Convenience Store Association president

Upendra Patel was quoted in a media report.