Police in New York are investigating the vandalism of a major Hindu temple as a possible hate crime. A sign board and driveway of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) temple in Melville, Suffolk County, was defaced with spray paint, the police said.

The BAPS Swaminarayan Temple officials on September 16, said they were saddened that we must once again appeal for peace in the face of hate and intolerance.” The previous night, the temple was hit by hate-filled graffiti that was painted on the driveway and on the temple sign.

A Hindu temple in Melville, New York, was vandalised with anti-India graffiti, prompting India to urge US authorities to take swift action. The BAPS Swaminarayan Temple, the target of the attack, held a prayer meeting attended by local leaders,

The US and Canada have become breeding grounds for Khalistani separatists attacking temples with the idea of creating fear in places where Hindu consolidation is happening, said intelligence sources

The incident at the the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Melville, New York, happened on the night of September 15 in the USA