At a time when India and Canada have been engaged in a diplomatic standoff, reports are emerging from Ottawa that the Canadian Police have arrested a man for his alleged involvement in cases of vandalism of the Laxmi Narayan and Bhameshwari temples in Surrey.
India and Canada have been in the midst of a diplomatic row following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s unfounded claims that Indian agents were involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Nijjar (a Canadian citizen) in British Columbia.
It is to be noted here that this was the first arrest made by the Canadian Police since the incident temple desecration had happened earlier this year in August.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Surrey, confirmed to a news organisation in India that a suspect was apprehended in connection with the August 12 and 14 incidents. The Indian news outlet also quoted the official as saying that the individual has been charged with two counts of mischief and will be asked to appear in court at a later date.
Though the temple targeted on August 14 could not be identified, on August 12, Khalistani terrorists in Canada attacked the Laxmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey, near the Canada-United States border.
According to reports then the Khalistani terrorists had placed posters and banners at the entrance of the temple with an aim to instil fear among Canadian Hindus. The poster talked about a referendum with regard to “the assassination of Hardeep Nijjar” and investigating India’s role in his killing.
The news outlet “Australia Today” shared a video capturing the disturbing act of vandalism at the temple, which was carried out by Khalistani terrorists. In the video, two masked individuals could be seen affixing posters at the temple’s entry gate.
The poster speaks about the intention of Khalistanis to conduct a referendum about examining India’s involvement in what they called the “assassination of Hardeep Nijjar”. Featuring an image of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the poster commemorated him as a “martyr”.
Diplomatic row:
Recently, Canada levelled unfounded allegations against India for the killing of Nijjar. This led India to strongly refute the allegations. This led to a diplomatic standoff between the two countries. Canada is yet to provide evidence to back its claims that Indian agents were involved in the killing of Nijjar, a Khalistani extremist designated as a terrorist by India.
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