Indian Consulate in New York strongly condemns vandalisation of Gandhi statue outside Hindu temple

The Consulate General of India in New York on Friday strongly condemned the vandalisation of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi outside a Hindu temple here and has taken up the matter with US authorities to ensure those responsible for the "despicable action" are held accountable.

In a possible hate crime, unidentified persons destroyed a handcrafted statue of Mahatma Gandhi with a sledgehammer at the Hindu temple in Queens after vandalising it earlier this month.

The Consulate said in a statement that it "strongly condemns the vandalisation of the Mahatma Gandhi statue outside a temple in Queens, New York. We have taken up the matter with US authorities seeking thorough investigation so that those responsible for such despicable action are held accountable." Surveillance video showed a person thrashing a statue of Gandhi with a sledgehammer on Tuesday, before smashing the head off and toppling it over, according to cbsnews.com.

Minutes later, a group of six stomp on it and take turns hammering the statue before taking off.

The New York Police Department is investigating both incidents as possible hate crimes, media reports said.