‘US ATTACKS ON INDIANS ARE HATE CRIMES’

NEW DELHI: The recent attacks on Indians in the US are “hate crimes” and not a simple law and order issue, the government said on Monday with an assertion that national interest will not be compromised for the sake of Strategic Partnership with that country.

Making a statement in the Rajya Sabha, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj expressed confidence that the Trump Administration will not let these incidents become a trend and is keeping a close watch on it.

“We do not treat these incidents as law and order matter.

It is not as simple as that. From our side, we are saying that these are 100 per cent incidents of hate crime,” she said, adding that the investigation should be carried out from such a perspective.

The minister was making statement on three incidents of attacks on Indians in the US. On February 22, 32-year old Srinivas Kuchibhotla was shot dead by a US national in Kansas city, while on March 2 Harnish Patel, a US national of Indian origin, was shot dead.

On March 4, Deep Rai, a US national of Indian origin, was shot by an unknown person in Kent near Seattle.

“We are taking up this matter at the highest level. We are watching if there is any trend being set,” Swaraj said.

She said the US administration is saying that the attacks were individual acts of hate crimes and no trend should be seen in these incidents.