Canada: New security measures instituted after Gandhi statue vandalised

The management of the Vishnu temple in the Greater Toronto Area, where a statue of Mahatma Gandhi was vandalised last week, said it is instituting new security measures to prevent such incidents in the future

The management of the Vishnu temple in the Greater Toronto Area, where a statue of Mahatma Gandhi was vandalised last week, said it is instituting new security measures to prevent such incidents in the future.

The bust of the statue of Gandhi at the Vishnu Mandir in Toronto, Canada remains marred with blue paint after it was vandalised last week. (BY ARRANGEMENT)

The statue at the temple, located in Richmond Hill, was vandalised on Wednesday and has yet to be completely cleaned. It will require skilled craftsmen to remove the blue paint, so as to not damage the special coating used on the bronze bust. The pro-Khalistan graffiti, however, has been successfully removed from the pedestal of the 20-foot high bronze statue.

Robin Doobay, a member of the temple executive, said that they will install security cameras to monitor the Peace Park within the temple complex, where the statue stands. He said police has been “very supportive” and “sent out an officer from the crime department and he is advising us on the security upgrade in the Peace Park”.

He added they were awaiting word on the progress in the investigation of the vandalism from the York regional police, which collected CCTV recordings from cameras elsewhere in the temple for analysis.

Local law enforcement is investigating the episode as “a hate-motivated incident”.

Michael Ford, minister of citizenship and multiculturalism in the provincial government of Ontario, visited the temple on Monday and expressed solidarity with the community.

“This morning I had the opportunity to meet with members of our Hindu community at Vishnu Mandir and assured community leaders that acts of vandalism have no place in our province,” Ford said on Twitter after the visit.

The vandalism drew criticism from Canada’s foreign minister Melanie Joly and minister of national defence Anita Anand. It also drew the ire of the Indian government, with India’s High Commission in Ottawa sending a diplomatic communique to Global Affairs Canada, the country’s foreign ministry, describing the incident as a “hate crime” targeted at India and Indo-Canadians.

India’s Consulate in Toronto said that it was “distressed at the desecration” of the statue in a post on Twitter.