Hindu temple in US defaced with pro-Khalistani slogans, Jarnail Singh's name

A Hindu temple was defaced with anti-India and pro-Khalistani slogans graffiti on its exterior walls in California's Newark city in the United States. The pictures of the graffiti were shared by the Hindu American Foundation on Saturday in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), showing hateful slogans against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the walls of the Swaminarayan Mandir Vasana Sanstha.

The graffiti also mentioned slain Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale's name on the walls.

“The mention of the Khalistan terrorist kingpin #Bhindranwale, who targeted Hindus for murder, is specifically meant to traumatize temple goers and create a fear of violence—meeting the CA definition of a hate crime,” the Hindu American Foundation wrote on X.

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The foundation also urged the Newark police to investigate the incident as a hate crime. “Swaminarayan Mandir Vasana Sanstha in Newark, California was defaced with pro-#Khalistan slogans. @NewarkCA_Police and @CivilRights have been informed and full investigation will follow. We are insisting that this should be investigated as a hate crime,” the post read.

Meanwhile, the Newark police has assured a thorough investigation into the incident.

The incidents of such hate crimes have been recorded several times in the country, as well as are on the rise in the US and Canada.

In August, activists of banned Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) defaced more than five metro stations with pro-Khalistan graffiti ahead of the G20 Summit in the national capital. The SFI also reportedly released raw footage of the Delhi metro stations where slogans such as ‘Delhi Banega Khalistan’ and ‘Khalistan Zindabad’ were written. Two people were arrested in the case in September, while another man was detained two months later.