US legislators show concern on defacement of temples

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New Delhi, April 2

Overcoming ideological differences, five Indian-American members of the US Congress have expressed concern over an “alarming” increase in incidents of vandalism at temples across the country and have sought a briefing from the US Department of Justice about the progress in investigations in the cases of defilement of temples.

Cite cases of Khalistan, anti-India graffiti

Leaders from these impacted communities have expressed that there are unfortunately ‘no leads’ on suspects, leaving many to continue to live in fear and intimidation. Indian-American lawmakers in joint letter

In a joint letter to the Department of Justice, they also sought coordination between local agencies, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Civil Rights Division.

Citing several cases of temples being defaced with pro-Khalistan and anti-India graffiti, they wrote that “attacks at mandirs (temples) from New York to California have contributed to increased collective anxiety among Hindu Americans”.

The letter was sent by Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Shri Thanedar and Amy Bera to the Department of Justice.

“Leaders from these impacted communities have expressed there are unfortunately ‘no leads’ on suspects, leaving many to continue to live in fear and intimidation. Our communities remain concerned about law enforcement coordination regarding these bias-motivated crimes, and they are left wondering if there is appropriate federal oversight to ensure equal protection under the law,” they wrote.

The Congress members also listed several incidents and commented on the “closeness of the timing of incidents” which raised “troubling questions about linkages and the intent behind them”.