Several Indo-Canadians charged in connection with incidents of sexual assault
These cases comprise nearly half-a-dozen such episodes since July this year; Canadian police are investigating several such incidents
Toronto: A number of Indo-Canadians have been arrested in recent days in connection with incidents of sexual assault.
On Wednesday, the Surrey detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) stated that charges had been approved in an alleged incident of sexual assault against 24-year-old Jatinder Singh, a resident of the town in Surrey. This followed an investigation that commenced on July 20.
At 3.15am (local time), police responded to a report of alleged stranger sexual assault. “The victim reported that she was woken up by a man groping her in her residence. The victim screamed for help and the suspect fled,” the release said. Jatinder Singh has also been charged with breaking and entering. He was produced before a court on August 16, but released on conditions including having no contact or communication of the victim or going within 50 metres of her.
Also on Wednesday, Waterloo Regional Police said it was searching for a person in connection with a sexual assault in the town of Kitchener on August 10. That suspect was identified as 21-year-old Sukhmanjot Singh, with connections to the Region of Waterloo and to Peel Region and he is “considered armed and dangerous”.
On Tuesday, police in Winnipeg in Manitoba said it had detained and charged 34-year-old Gurpreet Vehniwal. This followed police responding to an alleged abduction incident on August 16. A release said that three days earlier, the victim was “confronted” in his residence by two males, one of whom was known to him. He was allegedly beaten and abducted and driven “to an undisclosed location where he was sexually assaulted and had his cellular phone and passport taken from him. He was eventually released and subsequently called the police.”
Vehniwal faces multiple charges including those of robbery, kidnapping and sexual assault.
The cases reported this week add to a growing number in recent months. On July 27, Dr Sunilkumar Patel, 36, a dentist practising in the town of Ajax, was charged with two counts of sexual assault. He was released on an undertaking. This came after a patient visited the dental clinic on July 13 and on two instances, accused him of touching her “inappropriately”, according to Durham Regional Police, who were concerned there may have been additional victims.
Earlier in July, a 25-year-old was arrested, though later released from custody, in connection with allegations that he groped a dozen persons, including minors, at a water park in Moncton in the province of New Brunswick.
On July 12, Surrey RCMP said 59-year-old Ajastar Singh has been charged with sexual assault and sexual interference with a person under the age of 16. He was charged in relation with an investigation which began in May last year. On May 4, 2023, Surrey RCMP responded to a report that a 15-year-old female youth had been sexually assaulted at or in the area of the Gurdwara Dukh Nivaran, which is Surrey, British Columbia. The suspect was an employee at the gurdwara.
On July 4, Ajastar Singh was Singh was arrested for the two offences and appeared in court. He was released pending a future court date with multiple conditions, including no contact with children under the age of 16; not being at public areas where children under the age of 16 would likely be present; and not engaging in employment or volunteer work that involves working with children under the age of 16.
