NEWARK: A Hindu temple has been vandalised in the United States’ California with anti-India and pro-Khalistan graffiti found written on its exterior walls. The incident occurred in Newark city and the authorities have assured a thorough investigation into the incident.
Anti-India slogans targeting the Prime Minister and hailing Khalistani propaganda were painted on the exterior walls of the Swaminarayan Mandir Vasana Sanstha.
Images shared by a Hindu group, ‘Hindu American Foundation’ on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, showed hateful slogans against India and the Prime Minister on the wall of the temple.
The foundation further claimed that the mention of the late Khalistan terrorist kingpin Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who targeted Hindus, is “specifically meant to traumatise” the devotees and create an environment of violence.
The Indian consulate in San Francisco expressed shock over the incident and said that the authorities have pressed for a quick investigation into the matter.
“We strongly condemn 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,” the Consulate wrote on X.
Notably, this is not the first time that the news of vandalism and defacing of Hindu temples in the United States has emerged.
Earlier in January 2019, a Hindu temple was vandalised in the US state of Kentucky by miscreants who sprayed black paint on the deity and wall.
The incident happened at the Swaminarayan Temple in Louisville. In April 2015, a Hindu temple in north Texas was defaced with nasty images. In February 2015, Hindu temples in Kent and the Seattle Metropolitan area were also vandalised.
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