Saperstein called the recent incidents cow vigilantism very disturbing.

The US is hopeful that Indian government will “accommodate” their concerns about Christian group Compassion international, which has faced restrictions over accusations that it funded Indian NGOs involved in religious conversion, US ambassador at-Large for international religious freedom David Saperstein said on Monday as he began his visit to India.

“We are deeply concerned when civil society organizations who act peacefully are restricted from carrying out their obligations by the government. We really hope that groups like Compassion International, who have indicated they are willing to live by the laws of the land will be allowed to continue their partnership here,” The Hindu quoted Saperstein.

“Compassion International has communicated that if there have been any violations, and they have seen no documentation, then they will fix it. So I hope there will be an accommodation so that they can go on providing social services,” he said.

Saperstein called the recent incidents cow vigilantism very disturbing and hoped that Prime Minister Modi’s message would stop the impunity.

“The incidents were very disturbing and PM Modi spoke out forcefully against this. It is important that the minorities who are vulnerable are protected. And leaders like the Prime Minister speak out in a very clear way so as not to create an atmosphere of impunity by those who are violators of the law. I believe that he did that and I hope that it has calmed down some of the issues here. But people have a right to hold views that the majority might not like,” he told to India Today’s Smita Sharma.

Responding to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s call for a ban on burqa, the state department’s ambassador at-Large said that a burqa ban was a security-driven issue compared to a headscarf ban which premises on the secularism debate.

Saperstein, who had been one of the top US government functionaries in the Barack Obama administration, is on his trip to India and Bangladesh from December 11-22 to discuss religious freedom with government officials, civil society representatives and leaders representing both majority and minority religious communities. He will visit Bengaluru, Mumbai and Dhaka cities.