US response to killings prompt: MEA

New Delhi : Describing the US response to recent hate crimes against Indians settled there as “prompt and clear”, the government today said it had no plans of issuing an advisory for Indians travelling to the US or residing there.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who attended the Lok Sabha for the first time since her renal transplant, said India had raised the killings of Srinivas Kuchibolta in Kansas, Harnish Patel in South Carolina and Deep Rai in Kent at “very high levels” in the US government and the response had been “prompt”.
“I will say the prompt and clear response of the US political leadership and the law enforcement authorities to these incidents and the widespread messages of support from all quarters in the US give us confidence that these incidents are acts of individuals and do not represent the overwhelming sentiments of the American people towards India,” Swaraj said after an MP asked if the government planned to issue any advisory for Indians visiting or living in the US.
Terming the safety of Indian diaspora as “top priority”, Swaraj said India was in continuous dialogue with the US and would remain vigilant to developments affecting the lives of Indians abroad.
The Minister dismissed March 9 remarks by MPs Bhartruhari Mahtap and Mohammad Salim about the US issuing a travel advisory to its citizens against travelling to India.
“There is no travel advisory in force for India at present. A reference to India has been included in the Worldwide Caution report, which the US State Department releases every six months. These are in the form of broad assessment of threat perceptions. Such references to India have been included in the previous reports and have nothing to do with the change of Administration,” Swaraj said.
She added that in the past, references to India in these reports were much more detailed than these are now.The Minister also told the Lok Sabha that in all the three cases of hate crimes involving Indians, the government had immediately reached out to the affected families. “The government took up the issue with the US government at very high levels and conveyed our deep concerns. We have called for necessary measures to ensure the safety of Indians and expeditious investigation into these incidents,” she said.