'Go home brown c**t': Swaminarayan Temple in Australia defaced with hateful graffiti

The incident, which took place on July 21, also saw the same hateful messages, which appeared to also have a crude portrait of Adolf Hitler, scribbled on two nearby Asian-run restaurants, a report said.

The Swaminarayan Temple in Australia's Boronia, has reportedly been defaced with hate slurs painted in red graffiti—reading, 'Go home brown c**t'—in what appears to be the latest in a series of such attacks targeting religious sites.

The incident, which took place on July 21, also saw the same hateful messages, which appeared to also have a crude portrait of Adolf Hitler, scribbled on two nearby Asian-run restaurants, The Australia Today reported.

In the aftermath of the incident, Makrand Bhagwat, the head of the Hindu Council of Australia’s Victoria chapter, condemned the attack.

"Our temple is meant to be a sanctuary of peace, devotion and unity. Seeing it vandalised felt like an attack on our identity, our right to worship and freedom of religion," he said, according to the report, adding that the temple on Wadhurst Drive serves as a vital hub for Melbourne’s Indian diaspora.

Victoria Police have confirmed they are investigating the four linked incidents in Boronia. "The police are investigating following reports of graffiti in Bayswater and Boronia on July 21," a spokesperson told the outlet.

The incident in Australia mirrors a pattern of similar acts of vandalism seen recently in other Western countries, particularly Canada, where pro-Khalistan graffiti has been used to target Hindu temples.

In April of this year, the Lakshmi Narayan Temple in Surrey, Canada, was defaced with similar hateful slogans. A journalist visiting the site reported it was the third time the temple had been vandalised and that the community felt neglected by authorities. That attack was carried out at 3 am by two individuals who also removed a security camera.

Earlier, the Khalsa Diwan Society’s Ross Street Gurdwara in Vancouver was also targeted with pro-Khalistani slogans. The Gurdwara management condemned the act, calling it part of an "ongoing campaign by extremist forces that seek to instil fear and division within the Canadian Sikh community."