Vancouver: The Consulate General of India in Vancouver has strongly condemned a recent assault on an Indian national in Canada’s British Columbia, where a 17-year-old Sikh high school student was assaulted at a bus stop following an altercation with another teenager.
The Consulate has called upon Canadian authorities to thoroughly investigate the incident and take swift action against those responsible.
The incident unfolded at the intersection of Rutland Road South and Robson Road East in Kelowna, as reported by CTV news.
According to a statement from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Sikh student was subjected to both physical assault and pepper spraying as he exited a public transit bus on his way home. Prior to the attack, there had been an altercation aboard the bus, resulting in the removal of those involved from the vehicle.
While specific details about the bus altercation were not disclosed by the authorities, the World Sikh Organisation of Canada has alleged that the student was also mistreated while onboard the bus.
According to their statement, two individuals prevented the student from boarding the bus initially, and later threatened him with a lighter while photographing and recording him from a close distance with their phones.
Guntaas Kaur, the Vice President for British Columbia at the World Sikh Organisation, expressed shock and strong condemnation of the incident, calling it “shocking and unacceptable.”
