Hate crime : Indian restaurant in US destroyed

In what looks like a crime spawned by xenophobia, an Indian restaurant in the USA was reportedly vandalized by miscreants on Tuesday. Owned by a Sikh, the restaurant named India Palace, in the Sante Fe City of New Mexico, was broken into, and hate messages were written on its walls.

A PTI report estimated the damage caused to the restaurant at USA 1,00,000, besides adding that the matter was under FBI investigation.

Meanwhile, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), has reportedly condemned the incident. The PTI quoted the executive director of SALDEF, Kiran Kaur Gill, as saying, "This kind of hate and violence is unacceptable and swift action must be taken to ensure the safety and security of all Americans."

As per media reports, the vandals caused damage to glassware, tables and wine racks, besides beheading the statue of a goddess.

Another member of SALDEF was quoted by PTI as saying, "Santa Fe is a peaceful town, and the Sikh community has lived here, beautifully integrated, since the 60s."

He, however, added, "Tensions have flared recently with the reinvigoration of the Black Lives Matter movement and the removal of statues associated with Spanish colonisers of this area, who committed a number of atrocities."