Toronto: After a violent demonstration by supporters of Khalistan, a gathering that the Indian ambassador to Canada was scheduled to attend in British Columbia had to be postponed owing to security reasons.
Sanjay Kumar Verma, the Indian high commissioner, was being welcomed at the event, which was held on Sunday at the Taj Park Conference Centre in Surrey, for his first trip to the west coast.
According to Global News, the news and current affairs branch of the Canadian Global Television Network, the event was finally postponed due to security concerns.
High Commissioner Verma had been invited to the function.
Journalist Sameer Kaushal, who is of Indian descent, was beaten by demonstrators while covering the demonstration.
A major demonstration was taking place at the location when Kaushal, a journalist and news director of AM600 Sher E Punjab Radio, came, and he said that the protesters would not let him inside the event.
Things rapidly turned bad when he introduced himself as a journalist and asked the demonstrators if he could speak with their organisers about their concerns, he told Global News on Monday.
“They attempted to provoke the whole audience. I was surrounded by around 50 to 60 young people who had formed a circle and covered their faces with clothing. They pushed me, threatened me, and abused me in my own language, he said.
You must leave this location for your own protection as we cannot provide you with security over here, the RCMP police told me as they quickly pulled me from the throng.
A representative for the Surrey Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Cpl. Vanessa Munn, confirmed that police were looking into an alleged assault at the rally involving a different male victim and that Mounties were looking for witnesses and footage.
One individual who was in the throng and seemed to be surrounded and attacked by several others is the subject of an assault inquiry, she added.
Police who were there when the attack occurred were able to penetrate the throng, step in to stop it, and assist in escorting the victim out of the situation. For his own protection, he was then loaded into the back of a police vehicle.
According to Munn, the person was taken beyond the local region and given non-life-threatening medical care.
While there were no arrests made at the site, the investigation is still ongoing, and charges may eventually be filed, she noted.
The demonstration took place when Punjab-based extremist preacher Amritpal Singh and his colleagues were being targeted by Indian authorities.
Khalistan activists have up their anti-Indian actions lately, vandalising various Hindu temples in Canada.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly denounced the surge in anti-Indian activities and hate crimes in Canada in a statement they released last September, expressing their worry.
