US condemns vandalism at Indian Consulate: It’s a punishable crime

Responding to questions, John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for strategic communications at the White House, told reporters: “That vandalism, it’s just absolutely unacceptable.”

“The State Department’s diplomatic security service is working with local authorities. I can’t speak for the San Francisco police, but I can say that the diplomatic security service is working with local authorities to properly investigate and obviously, the State Department is going to be working from an infrastructure perspective to repair the damage, but it’s unacceptable,” he said, in response to a question.

The US State Department also issued a statement indicating that those behind the act would be held accountable. “The US condemns the attack on Sunday against the Indian Consulate in San Francisco. Violence against diplomatic facilities within the US is a punishable crime,” it said.

“It is our priority to defend the security and safety of these facilities and the diplomats who work within them,” said the South and Central Asia Bureau of the State Department.

According to a PTI report from Washington, some pro-Khalistan protesters made an attempt to set the Indian Consulate in San Francisco on fire at around 4.20 am on Sunday, and this was captured on the Consulate’s CCTV.

Citing sources, the report said two bearded men wearing caps, who remain unidentified, poured flammable material at the entrance of the Consulate and tried to set the building on fire. However, the fire did not spread, possibly due to the building material or the quality of flammable liquid, it said.

The Consulate immediately took up the matter with the city police and concerned authorities at multiple levels from San Francisco to Washington DC, the report said.

About 11 hours later, in the absence of a strong law enforcement and city police presence, pro-Khalistan supporters 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, the report said. In the process, one of the Consulate employees sustained minor injuries.

On Monday, the protesters pitched a tent outside the Consulate, said the report, adding that those who were part of the vandalism were among the protesters. Senior Indian diplomats have told their American counterparts that they anticipate more such protests in the coming weeks and months. Security has been beefed up at all the Indian diplomatic missions in the US, said the report. India on Monday lodged a protest with US Charge d’Affaires in Delhi over the incident at its Consulate in San Francisco. The Ministry of External Affairs said the US government was asked to take appropriate measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.