Graffiti at BYU may be linked to India unrest

PROVO — Brigham Young Police said some graffiti discovered on campus last week could have possible connections to political unrest in India.

On March 20, BYU police received a report of graffiti scrawled in yellow spray paint on the north side of the Morris Center Cafeteria, said Lt. Arnold Lemmon. The 2-foot-high lettering spelled out "Raj Hate."

Lemmon said the graffiti could be in reference to Raj Thackeray — a controversial political figure in India, but he called the connection "a long shot." He said the letters "RAJ" could just be an individual's initials.

The majority of graffiti cases handled by BYU police involve student chalk drawings, Lemmon said. They rarely get a "true graffiti" case such as this. The writing was promptly cleaned up.

BYU police have networked with other law enforcement agencies to see if this graffiti incident is part of a pattern, Lemmon said. But it appears this was an isolated incident.