NEW DELHI: Under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, India has requested from the United States evidence in connection with an attack on the Indian consulate in San Francisco earlier this year. According to sources, the request was made by Indian authorities as part of an ongoing investigation being conducted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
In March this year, the Indian consulate in San Francisco came under attack from pro-Khalistan supporters, who tried to set the diplomatic facility on fire. This was the second act of such violence in a matter of months. On the same day, pro-Khalistan supporters, shouting slogans, forcibly passed through some makeshift security barriers and put up two so-called Khalistani flags at the consulate premises, damaged the building, assaulted and injured the officials.
Three months later, in the intervening night of July 1 and 2, some people trespassed on the consulate and attempted to set it on fire, while officials were still inside the building. Some Khalistan supporters also posted a video of the arson on ‘X’, with the words “violence begets violence” emblazoned on the building. It also showed news articles related to the death of Canada-based Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The US had strongly condemned the incident, calling it an act of “criminal offence”. After two back-to-back incidents, the NIA registered a case on June 16 under several relevant sections of law and began probing the incident. Two months later, an NIA team visited San Francisco in connection with the case. Sources said that the NIA team scanned several CCTV footages of the day and zeroed in on 45 suspects.
Khalistani terror
In March this year, the Indian consulate in San Francisco came under attack from pro-Khalistan supporters, who tried to set the diplomatic facility on fire. That was the second act of such violence in a matter of months. Pro-Khalistani supporters damaged the consulate building and assaulted the officials.