Surrey, BC: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has launched an investigation after shots were heard at the residence of an Indian-origin man in Canada's British Columbia on Wednesday. The firing occurred in the early morning at the residence of Lakshmi Narayan Mandir President Satish Kumar's son in Surrey in the 14900 block of 80 Avenue.
According to police, no injuries were reported in the incident. "Surrey RCMP is investigating a report of shots fired at a residence in the early morning of December 27, 2023... No one was injured during the incident but the residence involved sustained damage consistent with bullet holes," the police said in a statement.
The Surrey RCMP General Investigation Unit has conducted the investigation, and the officers are working to determine the motive of this incident, adding that the identities of the perpetrators are not known yet. "Anyone with more information, including dash cam footage of the incident, is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP," said the police in the statement.
Threats against Indians in Canada
Earlier, Indian-origin Canadian MP Chandra Arya shared a purported video on social media showing pro-Khalistani threatening to create trouble at the Hindu Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey, British Columbia.
Taking to X, Arya said that Hindu temples have come under attacks by Khalistani extremists in the last couple of years and hate crimes are being committed against Hindu-Canadians. He urged Canadian authorities to take action against such acts and said that allowing these things to be done openly is "not acceptable".
"Last week Khalistan supporters verbally abused a Sikh family outside a Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey BC according to some reports. Now it appears the same Khalistan group want to create trouble at the Hindu Laxmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey," said the Canadian MP in his post.
This comes after a disturbing video emerged on social media showing a brawl between scores of Sikhs and Hindus on Diwali in Mississauga. Responding to the Toronto Sun query, police confirmed the incident and said Peel Regional Force has been investigating the matter.
Attacks on Hindu temples in Canada
This is not the first such attack on a Hindu temple in Canada; multiple such incidents have been carried out by Khalistani extremists. Several incidents were also recorded this year itself. In April this year, BAPS Swaminarayan temple was vandalised with anti-India graffiti in Windsor, in Canada's Ontario.
Prior to that, the Ram Mandir in Canada's Mississauga was vandalised with anti-India graffiti in February. The Consulate General of India in Toronto condemned the defacing of the mandir and requested Canadian authorities to investigate the incident. In January, a Hindu temple in Brampton was also defaced with anti-India graffiti, triggering outrage among the Indian community.
India has repeatedly highlighted the issue of Canada giving space to anti-Indian elements and extremists on its soil. "The core issue remains the space that is given to extremists and terrorists and, anti-India elements in that country. I think you would heard also from the External Affairs Minister recently as well as others, about the developments of that case...and we would hope that they would take action on such extremist, elements that are misusing the freedom of speech and expression in their country," said Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Earlier, Trudeau said he believes India's relations with Canada may have undergone "a tonal shift" in the days since the unsealing of a US indictment alleging a conspiracy to murder India-designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil.
"I think there is a beginning of an understanding that they can't bluster their way through this and there is an openness to collaborating in a way that perhaps they were less open before. We don't want to be in a situation of fighting with India right now over this," he said.
(with inputs from ANI)
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