NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishnakar on Thursday addressed the attack on Indian consulate in San Francisco, which took place in 2023, and called it a “very serious matter”. He added that the country expected accountability from the US in the matter.
“The arson attack on our consulate in San Francisco is a very, very serious matter, and it is something for which we expect accountability. We would like to see that people who did it are held responsible,” Jaishankar said at a press conference in Washington DC.
On March 19, 2023, the Consulate General of India in San Francisco faced a series of attacks. Early in the morning, assailants attempted to set the consulate building on fire by sprinkling inflammable substances.
Later that day, a group of attackers engaged in criminal trespass, vandalized public property, and targeted consulate officials, escalating the severity of the incident.
The video, which surfaced on social media, showed suspected pro-Khalistani protestors gathered outside the Indian Consulate, shouting slogans and heckling staff as they exited the diplomatic mission.
Three months later, in July, Khalistan extremists made another attempt to set the Consulate on fire. Following this incident, an investigation was launched.
The attack was condemned by the US as “criminal offence”.
Later that year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had assured the National Investigative agency that it was ‘aggressively’ looking into the attack.
