Cops put Indo-Canadians on alert

The RCMP has put Indo-Canadians in British Columbia on alert following abductions and extortion attempts.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police(RCMP) has warned the wealthy Indo-Canadian business community in Surrey in British Columbia province, to take care following a series of abduction and extortion attempts.

HT Image

An RCMP statement has asked the Indo-Canadian business community in Surrey, within the Greater Vancouver Regional District, to put up security alarm systems and surveillance cameras in their homes and offices.

But the RCMP has not given any details. That, some feel, could cause confusion and needless panic.

"There are a lot of rich people in the Indo-Canadian community. To put out (the release) without an explanation, why create stresses for the businesspeople?" Harbanz Kandola, president of Surrey's Sikh Alliance Against Violence, said.

"It may give the impression to the mainstream community, or overall community, that now this is a new thing starting in the Indo-Canadian community or South Asian community. That is my concern."

A report quoted Surrey RCMP spokesman Roger Morrow as saying that its major crime unit "is beginning to see a trend developing as it relates to apparently affluent Indo-Canadian business people being targeted for these types of crimes.

"They are holding them, they are assaulting them and they are demanding cash from family members," he said.

Asked how many such incidents RCMP was aware of, Morrow said there was enough to issue a public warning.

South Asians, mostly of Indian origin, constitute 22 percent of Surrey's population.