Radicals try to burn down San Francisco consulate

WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI: The attack on India's consulate in San Francisco and threats to senior diplomats in Australia, Canada and the US through posters issued by pro-Khalistan elements are being seen as another instance of coordinated action, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday

- Prashant Jha and Rezaul H Laskar

Violent Khalistani activists sought to burn down the Indian consulate in San Francisco in the early hours of July 2 in what they claimed was an attempt to avenge the killing of Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist, in Canada last month.

The latest attack, coming a little more than three months after another violent incident at the same mission, was brought to the attention of the highest rung of American national security and diplomatic apparatus in Washington DC, which instructed its agencies to immediately investigate the incident, step up security, and offer all assistance to Indian officials. The US state department described the attack as a criminal offence.

The incident did not cause any damage inside the diplomatic premises. On Monday, a video titled "Violence Begets Violence" with the hashtag "Long Live Khalistan", posted on social media by Khalistani radicals, depicted and celebrated the fire inside the consulate.

People familiar with the incident said that around 1.30am on Sunday (PST), two men, dressed in dark overalls which obscured their identity, came to the front gate of the consulate. They painted pro-Khalistani graffiti on the walls and then used what appeared to be fuel cans to spray inflammable liquid inside the diplomatic premises. They set it alight, and within minutes, fled the scene.

Within six minutes of the incident, the fire engines of the San Francisco Fire Department were on the spot and doused the fire.