Washington:

Eminent Indians in Silicon Valley held a special meeting with top officials from the US Department of Justice, FBI and police, saying the US territory was being used for terror activities against India.

The group held meetings this week with top officials from the Justice Department, FBI and local police to discuss the growing number of hate crimes against Hindus in California.

According to multiple participants, during the meeting, Indian-Americans expressed dissatisfaction and dissatisfaction with the failure of U.S. law enforcement agencies to take any action against those who support terrorist activities in India.

The meeting was convened at the initiative of community leader Ajai Jain Bhutoria to address the challenging issue of rising hate crimes against Hindu and Jain places of worship. About two dozen prominent Indian-Americans attended the meeting.

Vincent Plair and Harpreet Singh Mokha of the Justice Department’s Community Relations Service attended, along with FBI officials and personnel from the San Francisco, Milpitas, Fremont and Newark police departments.

Indian Americans said after the meeting that the sudden increase in hate crimes against Indian Americans, especially Hindus, has caused a lot of fear and anxiety in the community.

There is a fear in the community right now. Khalistanis parked trucks outside schools and Indian grocery stores and terrorized young Indian Americans.

Some community members expressed anger at the failure of law enforcement agencies to take any action against these individuals, including those who tried to burn down the Indian consulate in San Francisco and publicly threatened Indian diplomats and publicly called for terror in India. India.

Some members who attended the meeting told PTI that senior law enforcement officials said they were unaware of the Khalistan movement in the United States and wanted Indian Americans to help them raise awareness about these terror groups in the United States. They also said they were unable to take action due to a lack of resources and funding and that they had other priorities.

This meeting is a critical moment as we unite to respond to the recent surge in hate crimes targeting Hindu places of worship. I brought together Indian community leaders, the Department of Justice, the FBI, and law enforcement officials from Milpitas, San Francisco, Fremont, and Newark. In the past four months, more than 11 temples in the Bay Area alone have been attacked, vandalized, and defaced with hateful graffiti. The fear in our communities is palpable, but our collective resolve is stronger than ever,” Mr Butoria said.

“We delved into the issue of protecting places of worship and combating hate crimes, particularly those involving Khalistan supporters of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) targeting Hindu temples, displaying disturbing banners in front of schools and corporate institutions .During our discussions, we explored organizing a Forum for the Protection of All Places of Worship (PPOW) with the Ministry of Justice,” said Sikh leader Sukhi Chahal.

Mr Chahal said he personally stressed the importance of dealing with provocative and threatening video messages from SFJ pro-Khalistan terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu.

“I urge FBI and Justice Department officials to seriously consider the potential impact of Mr. Pannu’s comments on peace, harmony, and India-U.S. relations. Most importantly, we work together to mitigate the impact of such hateful messages that have the potential to disrupt Tranquilize society and radicalize young people,” he said.

After the meeting, both parties agreed to establish a working group under the guidance of the U.S. Department of Justice to actively promote safety measures in places of worship and systematically report any bad behavior.

The working group will have representatives from all segments of the Indian community.

Community leaders expressed concern that police would be of little help to them in addressing this growing fear or deterring U.S. terror campaigns against India.

When asked about Khalistan, law enforcement officials said they were unaware of the background and needed to be educated on the matter.

An Indian-American told the FBI that Khalistani leaders openly threatened to blow up Air India planes and that they openly spread messages against Hindus.

One attendee said another Indian-American said the FBI did not dispute claims by some Khalistani leaders that the FBI was supporting them.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)