The fire was put out quickly and no staffers were reported to be hurt in the incident. However, the US department issued a condemnation of the incident soon after.

“The U.S. strongly condemns the reported vandalism and attempted arson against the Indian Consulate in San Francisco on Saturday,” US State Dept Spokesperson Matthew Miller wrote on Twitter.

“Vandalism or violence against diplomatic facilities or foreign diplomats in the U.S. is a criminal offense.”

Indian website livemint said that the Indian ambassador in India and consul general in San Francisco had been ‘targeted’ by the Sikhs in a poster that blamed them of playing a role in killing of Khalistan Tiger Forece leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar who was killed a few days ago.

Nijjar had been nominated in a list of 40 highly wanted terrorists by the Indian government and there was a INR10 million rupee bounty on his head.