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Canada: Hindu temple vandalised in GTA, police hunt two suspects
Police in Ontario seek two young white males for vandalizing a Hindu temple, with the incident viewed as a hate crime amid rising extremism.
Toronto: Police in Ontario are looking for two young, white males who vandalised a Hindu temple in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
In a statement, on Thursday, Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) said it was investigating “vandalism to a Hindu temple in Georgetown.”
The targeted place of worship was the Sri Krishna Brundavana Temple.
According to police, on Sunday, at approximately 1.10 am, two male suspects wearing hooded sweatshirts were seen leaving a pub in the downtown area of the town before walking to the temple.
“Security footage captured the suspects ripping down and damaging a sign at the front of the temple,” the release added.
HRPS is seeking to identify the males and have released their photos to facilitate the process.
The outlet, Halton Hills Today cited a congregant as describing the vandalisation as a hate crime against Hindus. It reported that the closed circuit cameras showed the destruction of the sign in front of the temple in progress.
Reacting to the incident, the Hindu Canadian Foundation (HCF) said it “must be viewed in context” as reflecting “the continued rise of extremism.”
“The growing influence of radical ideologies and extremism has led to hateful actions targeting Hindu Canadians and their sacred spaces in past. Such actions threaten the harmony of our diverse communities,” it added, in a post on X.
Several temples around Canada were targeted by extremists in 2022 and 2023.
On November 3, a pro-Khalistan group protesting outside the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton invaded the temple and attacked congregants within its premises.
A sergeant with the Peel Regional Police was suspended for participating in the protest held by the pro-Khalistan group while the principal organizer of the so-called Khalistan referendum in Canada, Inderjeet Gosal, was arrested and charged by law enforcement in connection with the violent invasion of the temple.
