Hindu temple defaced in Canada before Khalistan referendum

On Thursday, vandals spray-painted the outer walls of Shree Mata Bhameshwari Durga Society Mandir in Surrey, bearing slogans that read, "Punjab is not India" and "Modi is a terrorist".

Toronto: In a latest attack on Hindu places of worship in Canada, a prominent temple in the British Columbia province has been vandalised with anti-India and pro-Khalistan graffiti.

The outer walls of Shree Mata Bhameshwari Durga Society Mandir in Surrey were spray painted on Thursday with slogans reading, “Punjab is not India” and “Modi is a terrorist”.

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“A Hindu temple Shree Mata Bhameshwari Durga Devi Society has been vandalised with black spray paint. These kinds of cowardly attacks are on rise to create terror amongst the community,” Sameer Kaushal, News Director at Radio AM600 in Richmond, wrote on X.

Kaushal said that the Surrey detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have been notified about the incident.

The development comes just ahead of a Khalistan Referendum event, scheduled for September 10, and threats from banned group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) to “lock down” India’s Consulate in Vancouver.

The referendum event, scheduled to take place at a school in Surrey, was cancelled after images of weapons on the poster were brought to the school authorities’ notice by concerned residents.

The poster featured a kirpan (dagger) as well as an AK-47 machine gun, along with the name of SFJ.

It also had pictures of Khalistani leaders Hardip Singh Nijjar, who was shot dead in June at a parking lot in Surrey and Talwinder Singh Parmar, the mastermind of the 1985 Air India Flight bombing.

Despite New Delhi registering strong protests, an anti-India campaign continues in Canada with pro-Khalistani graffiti and posters targeting Indian diplomats and temples across the country.

Last month, anti-India and pro-Khalistan posters were found pasted on the front and rear walls of the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey.

Beginning this year, the BAPS Swaminarayan temple in Ontario and the Gauri Shankar temple in Brampton were targeted in April and January with anti-India graffiti.

Canadian authorities are investigating them as “hate-motivated incidents”.