It’s good that India’s High Commissioner to Ottawa Sanjay Kumar Verma canceled his appearance at the Friends of India event that was scheduled for last Sunday in Surrey as small angry mob protesting the arrest of new youth Sikh leader Amritpal Singh in Punjab ran roughshod at the Taj Park Convention Centre and roughed up some of the organizers and friends of India that still showed up to the completely empty banquet hall. Nearly 200 protesters, some wielding swords, gathered in front of the Taj Park Convention Centre and some even entered the hall and disturbed the organizers which included local media man Maninder Gill and other supporters of India who were at the hall. 

By PD Raj – Senior Writer DESIBUZZCanada

With News Files

SURREY – It’s good that India’s High Commissioner to Ottawa Sanjay Kumar Verma canceled his appearance at the Friends of India event that was scheduled for last Sunday in Surrey as small angry mob protesting the arrest of new youth Sikh leader Amritpal Singh in Punjab ran roughshod at the Taj Park Convention Centre and roughed up some of the organizers and friends of India that still showed up to the completely empty banquet hall.

Nearly 200 protesters, some wielding swords, gathered in front of the Taj Park Convention Centre and some even entered the hall and disturbed the organizers which included local media man Maninder Gill and other supporters of India who were at the hall. 

A video shows protestors pushing the organizers, trying to knock out the phone from Gill’s hand and even pushing the chair on of the friends of India attendees as he sat in a chair and then the chair falls and he then the man tries to clumsily get up, looking scared. The video of this disturbance was then circulated on whatsapp.

Toronto: As passions run high within sections of Indo-Canadian community in Canada amid rumours of the arrest of fugitive Amritpal Singh in Punjab, India’s High Commissioner in Canada had to cancel an event in British Columbia due to concerns over his safety as protesters blocked the entrance to the venue.

India’s High Commissioner to Ottawa Sanjay Kumar Verma was scheduled to attend a reception organised by the Friends of India & Canada Foundation in Surrey. However, he was forced to cancel his attendance due to the large number of protestors.

Hindustan Times reported that that local Surrey Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) was unable to control the mob which started gathering a couple of hours before the event was scheduled to begin on Sunday evening and police advised the High Commissioner against attending the function.

Maninder Gill, president of the Foundation, said, “This is a shame if even the High Commissioner cannot be protected in this country.”

There were online threats to disrupt meetings and events being attended by Indian diplomats in the country including that of the High Commissioner. The call to the protestors asked them to “Mask up” and to leave their IDs and cellphones at home.

India’s High Commission in Ottawa had already sought upgraded security for its missions in the country for the foreseeable future.

The High Commission faced a protest by members of the Shiromani Akali Dal – Amritsar in Ottawa on Sunday afternoon, though that passed without incident unlike events in London, which saw the High Commission in the British capital vandalized.

A public meeting “to discuss Bhai Amritpal Singh’s Arrest” was organised at the Sikh Spiritual Center in the town of Brampton in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) by the Ontario Gurdwara Committee. Gatherings from Brampton to protest action against Singh and his associates also featured Khalistan flags and banners. Similar protests are planned throughout the week.