Indian consulate fire: Khalistan radicals on Sunday set Indian Consulate on fire in San Francisco. The fire was doused quickly by the San Francisco Fire Department. No major damages or staffers were harmed. Local, state and federal authorities have been notified. The US Department of State has strongly condemned the act of violence.
This is the second attack by Khalistanis in the last five months. A local channel Diya TV reported on Tuesday that the Indian consulate in San Francisco was set on fire between 1:30 am and 2:30 am on Sunday.
Earlier, Khalistani supporters ransacked the Indian Consulate in March. The TV channel shared a video of the fire and said it was released by Khalistani supporters. However, hindi.news24online.com does not verify the authenticity of this video.
US condemns fire incident
There is no news of any casualty in the fire that broke out after the Khalistanis attack. After the information of the incident, the fire was immediately controlled by the San Francisco Fire Department. Reacting to the incident, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the US strongly condemns the vandalism and attempted arson. “Vandalism or violence against foreign diplomats is a criminal offense in the US,” he said.
Consulate ransacked in March
Earlier in March, when the Punjab Police launched a nationwide manhunt for Amritpal Singh in India, Khalistani supporters ransacked the Indian consulate in San Francisco. Videos emerged of a huge mob attacking the Indian consulate amid Punjabi music playing in the background. A huge painting was made on the outer wall of the San Francisco building on which Free Amritpal was written.
Protesters raising pro-Khalistan slogans broke the security barrier to put up two Khalistani banners inside the consulate premises. They also ransacked the doors and windows of the embassy with iron rods.