After several arrests made by police at a protest and counter-protest, a Hindu temple is calling the police response “unjustified violence.”
“These actions must be addressed to ensure justice and prevent further tensions,” Lakshmi Narayana Hindu Temple said in a Facebook post Sunday night.
Over the weekend, Canadian Sikhs who are tied to the campaign for Khalistan were protesting in Surrey. The movement is calling for a separatist Sikh nation in Punjab, India. In response counter protests had also broken out.
Surrey RCMP said officers were deployed to the area to “keep the peace” as “hundreds of protestors with opposing views arrived and began demonstrating.”
However, tensions grew and Mounties said violence broke out between the groups and three people were arrested.
Videos online have spread of police officers restraining protesters, which some people online are condemning.
Surrey Police @surreyps arrested a temple devotee for the counter protest.#Surrey pic.twitter.com/TI2B9FmtbH
— Sameer Kaushal 🇨🇦❤🇮🇳 (@itssamonline) November 3, 2024
The Lakshmi Narayana Hindu Temple is now calling on governments to “address and prevent rising societal divisions.”
“The responsibility lies with the Government and authorities to prevent this from escalating further,” it said.
“For the safety of the Canadian society, we demand an immediate inquiry into the incident.
“We also call for the suspension, investigation, and prosecution of the police officers involved in unjustified violence against temple devotees.”
Surrey RCMP said it is meeting with local temple leaders to address their concerns and ease tensions and added, “In terms of any actions taken by police officers, there are mechanisms in place where members of the public can file a complaint anytime they have concerns about the actions of a police officer.”
Surrey’s Mayor Brenda Locke shared a statement in response to the temple and agreed that the “events at the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir yesterday are deeply concerning.”
“I am disappointed and upset by this incident. This is not who we are in Surrey. I am speaking with all parties involved and I call for the Surrey community to remain calm,” she said.
The Premier’s office also shared a response to say, “We are deeply concerned by reports of confrontations at a place of worship this weekend in Surrey.”
“Every British Columbian deserves to feel safe, no matter who they are,” David Eby said in an email statement. “We will work with other levels of government and law enforcement to maintain peace and harmony in our communities.”
“We are stronger together and I urge British Columbians to stand together and support each other.”
Mounties told Daily Hive that the suspects were all released from police custody and investigations are ongoing.