A day after reports of an Indian student being brutally assaulted in Australia sparked widespread outrage, the Swaminarayan Temple in Melbourne and two Asian restaurants were found defaced with hate graffiti, The Australia Today reported.
An image of Adolf Hitler with the message, "Go Home Brown C**T", was found spray-painted on the premises of the temple, located in Boronia on Wadhurst Drive.
The same message was also seen in two nearby Asian restaurants amid a worrying rise in targeted hate incidents.
Reacting sharply to the incident, president of the Hindu Council of Australia (Victoria chapter), Makrand Bhagwat, said the incident was an attack on "our identity and right to worship".
"Our temple is meant to be a sanctuary of peace, devotion and unity. To have it targeted in this way feels like an attack on our identity, our right to worship and freedom of religion," Bhagwat told the media.
Jacinta Allan, Premier of Victoria, in a letter to the temple management, said the "hateful and racist" incident was deeply disturbing and she has ordered an immediate investigation into the matter.
"It wasn't just vandalism, but a deliberate act of hate, designed to intimidate, isolate and spread fear," she said.
The development comes a day after news emerged of a 23-year-old Indian man, Charanpreet Singh, being assaulted in Adelaide over a parking dispute. The incident is being investigated as a possible racially motivated attack.
Source: India Today