India has requested evidence from the US authorities under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) in connection with an attack on the Indian consulate in San Francisco in July this year, ANI reported citing its sources. According to the report, the Indian government has sent a request amid an ongoing probe into the incident by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The major development came nearly eight months after the Indian Consulate in San Francisco came under attack from suspected Khalistani elements. Subsequently, US officials have identified as many as 45 people involved in the violent attack on the consulate.
Notably, MLAT is an agreement between two or more countries for the purpose of gathering and exchanging information and evidence in criminal matters.
Earlier, in July, a group of Khalistan extremists tried to set the Indian consulate in San Francisco on fire. The Local San Francisco police department, special diplomatic security personnel, and state and federal authorities were notified and they launched a probe into the July incident thereafter.
US also calls the attack a criminal offence
The incident was strongly condemned by the US, which called it a "criminal offence". "The US strongly condemns the reported vandalism and attempted arson against the Indian Consulate in San Francisco on Saturday.
"Vandalism or violence against diplomatic facilities or foreign diplomats in the US is a criminal offence," US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller posted from his official X handle.
Earlier, in March, the Indian Consulate in San Francisco came under attack from suspected Khalistani elements. A video surfaced on social media in which suspected pro-Khalistani protestors were seen gathering outside the Indian consulate in San Francisco, shouting slogans in support of pro-Khalistan leader Amritpal Singh and heckling staff as they abandoned the diplomatic mission.
