After London, Khalistan supporters attack Indian Consulate in San Francisco

After Khalistan supporters in London pulled down the Tricolour at the Indian High Commission building, their counterparts in the US’s San Francisco attacked the Indian Consulate on Sunday (March 19), showed videos circulating on social media.

The videos showed a huge mob gathered outside the Indian Consulate in San Francisco with a graffiti saying “#Free Amritpal” spray-painted on the outer wall of the building. The men raised pro-Khalistan slogans before some of them started hitting parts of the consulate building with the wooden rods of Khalistan flags. One man was filmed smashing the windows with a sword.

Amritpal Singh is a radical preacher and Khalistani sympathiser who has been on the run ever since a massive police crackdown was launched in Punjab on Saturday. Many of his sympathisers believe he has already been arrested.

Indian High Commission responds with huge Tricolour

In London’s Aldwych, the Indian High Commission responded to the action by Khalistan supporters by putting up a huge national flag. Photographs of the massive Tricolour went viral on social media, drawing applause from many users.

Late on Sunday evening, the External Affairs Ministry summoned British deputy high commissioner Christina Scott and demanded that the pro-Khalistan people involved in pulling down the Tricolour be arrested. The ministry also wanted to know why security was absent on the high commission premises, saying the UK government’s “indifference” was “unacceptable”.

British officials called the vandalism “disgraceful” and “unacceptable”. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said in a tweet that he condemned the vandalism at the Indian High Commission. “An investigation has been launched by the Met into today’s events,” he tweeted.

(With agency inputs)