Khalistani radicals on attacking spree, set Indian Consulate on fire in San Francisco

Jul 04, 2023

San Francisco (US), July 4 (ANI): A group of Khalistan radicals on July 2 set Indian Consulate on fire in San Francisco, US. Fire has been doused by the San Francisco Fire Department, no major damages have been reported. A Khalistani poster was spotted with the names of Indian Envoy Taranjit Sandhu, Consular General TV Nagendra Prasad on it. They have been accusing Indian diplomats of being involved in killing of Khalistan Tiger Force chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The US Department of State has strongly condemned the act of violence in San Francisco. “The U.S. strongly condemns the reported vandalism and attempted arson against the Indian Consulate in San Francisco on Saturday. Vandalism or violence against diplomatic facilities or foreign diplomats in the U.S. is a criminal offense,” Matthew Miller, Spokesperson, US State Department, said in a tweet. Notably, this incident happened after KTF chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar was gunned down outside a Gurudwara in Canada’s Surrey. He was one of India’s most wanted terrorists carrying a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head. On June 15, Avtar Singh Khanda died in England’s Birmingham as he was suffering from blood cancer. He was amongst those involved in the vandalism of the Indian High Commission in London. Khalistani separatist elements are deliberately trying to blame the Indian government for the killing of Nijjar, Khanda. Extremist groups have also planned to take out ‘Khalistan Freedom Rally’ to Indian Embassy on July 08 in Canada. EAM Jaishankar strongly reacted to the Khalistani activities and urged Canada not to give space to the extremists.