White House apprised of attacks

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, SEPT. 16. India's Ambassador to the U.S., Mr. Lalit Mansingh, has said that the embassy and consulates around the country were in touch with local authorities on the attacks on Indians in the aftermath of the terrorist strikes in New York and Washington.

Talking to The Hindu, Mr. Mansingh said he had contacted the White House on the attacks against Indians, especially Sikhs. He was assured that his message would be conveyed to the President, the National Security Adviser and the Attorney-General.

On the brutal killing of a Sikh in Mesa, Arizona, Mr. Mansingh said the Consulate-General was in touch with the local police and the family. Although the police are saying that a motive had not been established, the victim's family believes that Balbir Singh Sodhi was killed because he resembled those originating from West Asia.

He said Indian missions here were dealing with the situation in many ways. On the one hand, the consulates were in touch with local law enforcement officials and on the other, Sikh leaders were being encouraged to be more visible with their message and even get in touch with their elected Members of Congress.

Commenting on the killing, the Maricopa County Attorney, Mr. Rick Romley, was quoted as saying in The Arizona Republic: ``This is not going to be tolerated. I am going to use all of our resources to deal with this. We've had a terrible national tragedy, but there is no excuse for something like this.''

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Section  : International
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