KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A Swaminarayan temple has been vandalized with anti-India and pro-Khalistan graffiti on its exterior walls in Newark, California, United States. The incident came to light on Friday (local time).
The exterior wall of the Hindu temple was defaced with anti-India graffiti. The Newark Police Service has started an investigation into the vandalism.
Speaking to ANI, Bhargav Raval, the spokesperson for the temple administration said, “One of the devotees, who lives close to the shrine, discovered anti-Hindu and anti-India graffiti in black ink on an exterior wall of the building, and the local administration was immediately informed."
The temple authorities were 'shocked' to find the anti-Indian graffiti on its wall, he added. Jonathan Arguello, a police captain for the city of Newark shed more light on the incident during a press conference.
“Based on the graffiti, we believe it was a targeted act, and it's going to be investigated with full thoroughness. I can also tell you that as a member of the Newark Police Department and the Newark community, we're deeply saddened when these types of acts occur, and we think they're senseless and they have no room," the captain told media persons.
“We won't tolerate them here in Newark. So today, I wanted to make sure that you understand how seriously we take these situations and know that we will investigate as thoroughly as possible with utmost care and sensitivity. I can also tell you that officers are currently investigating this via evidence collection," he added.
The Consulate General of India in San Francisco said, condemned the defacing of SMVS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir at Newark, California with anti-India graffiti.
“This incident has hurt the sentiments of the Indian community. We have pressed for quick investigation and prompt action against the vandals by the US authorities in this matter," he said.
Notably, this is not the first such incident where a temple has been defaced with such graffiti in the recent past. This came close on the heels of the US Justice Department unsealing an indictment against an Indian national for his alleged involvement in a foiled plot to assassinate India-designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil.
The Justice Department claimed that an Indian government employee (named CC-1), who was not identified in the indictment filed in a federal court in Manhattan, recruited an Indian national named Nikhil Gupta to hire a hitman to carry out the assassination, which was foiled by US authorities, according to prosecutors.
Gupta is currently in custody and has been charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Czech authorities arrested and detained Gupta on June 30, under the bilateral extradition treaty between the US and the Czech Republic.