Toronto: Within the second such incident inside per week, a bust of Mahatma Gandhi situated within the campus of a college in British Columbia was focused and decapitated by unidentified vandals.
The incident is believed to have occurred on Monday. The bust of the Mahatma was situated within the Peace Park throughout the campus of Simon Fraser College (SFU) within the city of Burnaby in British Columbia.
The vandalism drew a pointy response from India’s consulate in Vancouver, because it tweeted, “We strongly condemn the heinous crime of vandalising the statue of harbinger of peace Mahatma Gandhi.”
“The Canadian authorities are urged to research the matter urgently and convey the perpetrators to justice swiftly,” the consulate added.
The bust has been a fixture on the campus since 1970, and was created on the Nice Arts Studio of the Wagh Brothers in Mumbai.
On October 2 yearly, the college organises garlanding of the bust.
Simply final Thursday, a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, situated on the Metropolis Corridor within the city of Hamilton in Ontario was defaced and anti-India and pro-Khalistan graffiti spray-painted close to its base. That incident is being investigated by Hamilton Police’s Hate Crime Unit.
In July final 12 months, a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, situated on the Vishnu Mandir in Richmond Hill, was additionally defaced. The 20-foot tall bronze statue was located within the temple’s Peace Park.
Comparable incidents have continued to happen over the previous 9 months. In February, a Hindu temple within the Better Toronto Space (GTA) was desecrated, with anti-India and pro-Khalistan graffiti spray-painted on its again wall. The goal of the vandalism was the Shri Ram Mandir within the city of Mississauga within the GTA. On January 30, the Gauri Shankar Mandir in Brampton was equally desecrated.
None of those incidents have to date resulted in any arrests. Whereas they’ve been linked by some to the so-called Punjab Referendum being organised by the secessionist group, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), Canadian regulation enforcement has but to ascertain that connection.
Statues of the Mahatma have been focused in North America even earlier. In February final 12 months, one was found decapitated in New York, whereas in January 2021, one other was vandalised in Davis, California.