India asks Canada to probe assault of Indian student in Kelowna, condemns incident, seeks prompt action

NEW DELHI: The Consulate General of India in Vancouver has requested Canadian authorities to investigate the recent incident of assault on an Indian national in Kelowna. Prompt action against the perpetrators has also been sought in the case, which saw a 17-year-old Sikh high school student getting assaulted at a bus stop after an altercation with another teenager in Canada’s British Columbia province, according to reports.
The incident took place on Monday in Kelowna at the intersection of Rutland Road South and Robson Road East where the high school student was allegedly “kicked, punched and pepper-sprayed”, media reports stated.
Condemning the website, in a post shared on X, the Consulate General of India in Vancouver stated, “@cgivancouver strongly condemns assault on an Indian national in Kelowna and requests Canadian authorities to investigate the incident and take prompt action against the perpetrators.”

“Officers determined a 17-year-old Sikh student was either beer or pepper sprayed by another teenage male after exiting a public transit bus on his way home,” a statement by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.
Before the assault, there was “an altercation” aboard a bus, which resulted in those involved being kicked off, police said.

While the police have not released more details, the World Sikh Organisation of Canada has alleged that the student was also assaulted while aboard the vehicle.

“Two individuals approached the student and first barred his entry onto the bus and then, once allowing him to board, began to threaten him with a lighter and photograph and record him from a close distance with their phones,” a news report quoted the organisation.

“Monday’s attack on a Sikh high school student in Kelowna is shocking and unacceptable,” Guntaas Kaur, WSO vice president for British Columbia was quoted as saying.
This is the second such instance of violence against a Sikh youth riding public transit in the city this year.
Earlier in March, a 21-year-old Sikh student from India, Gagandeep Singh, was attacked in British Columbia province by a group of unknown men who ripped off his turban and dragged him across the sidewalk by his hair.
(With inputs from agencies)

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