By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – India on Thursday raised serious concerns over growing “racist hostility and anti-India hate in the US” after an alleged plot to carry out a mass shooting targeting a Hindu temple in the Aurora area of Illinois.
Ministry of External Affairs demanded decisive action to ensure the safety and security of the Indian community in a statement issued.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “We are deeply concerned by reports of an alleged plot to carry out a mass shooting targeting a Hindu temple in the Aurora area of Illinois. The reported anti-Hindu and racist nature of the alleged plot, including references to violence against people of Indian origin, is particularly disturbing.”
He said that New Delhi has taken note of the action taken by US law enforcement authorities, including the arrest and detention of the suspect and the charges brought against him.
Jaiswal called for greater vigilance and zero tolerance for hate-motivated violence, demanding “decisive action to ensure the safety and security of the Indian community.”
“We expect US authorities to thoroughly investigate the matter, bring those responsible to justice, and take all necessary measures to prevent such incidents,” the statement added.
According to US officials, a teenager identified as 19-year-old Alexandros Paporakis was arrested for plotting an attack to “potentially target” a Hindu temple in the Aurora area of Illinois, near Chicago.
US authorities said that they recovered a supremacist manifesto from Paporakis’s possession. In the manifesto, investigators found references to violence against people of Indian origin.
The Hindu American Foundation said that the heavily armed gunman was already at the Hindu temple and attempted to start shooting, but the gun jammed.
The man described himself as a “sociopathic white supremacist Neo-Nazi filled with hatred, fantasizing about mass murder nearly every day,” the foundation added.
