Stepping up their protests, alleged Khalistan supporters have burnt the Indian flag outside its consulate in Toronto and came close to the boundary wall of the Indian embassy in Ottawa. More protests are expected in the coming days causing concern about security of the Indian diplomats there. Another protest was held outside the Indian consulate late Sunday in Vancouver.
The protesters late Saturday staged a demonstration in front of the consulate in Toronto and the Tricolour was burnt with several in the gathering shouting “Khalistan Zindabad” in the presence of local police, reports said.
Two days earlier, on Thursday, protesters from Montreal and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) gathered outside the High Commission in Ottawa.
They were dangerously close to the embassy.
During previous protests, they were held across the road, but on this occasion, they came close to the boundary wall. The incident was termed as “an infringement of diplomatic space”. About 400 protesters gathered in front of the High Commission, the largest number ever witnessed in a demonstration there.
About 500 also protested in front of the Indian consulate in Vancouver on Sunday. India had already alerted Ottawa to the requirement for heightened security measures given tensions related to the manhunt in Punjab for Amritpal Singh and the potential for escalation if he were to be located.
The National Alliance of Indo-Canadians criticised the flag burning incident and said in a tweet, “Is publicly burning flag of a country, in this case India, consistent with Canadian values? This must not be allowed in a civilised democracy, like ours.”
In the US, a large number of Khalistan supporters staged a protest at the iconic Times Square here to express support for the fugitive radical preacher.
The protesters took out a car rally that originated from the Baba Makhan Shah Lubana Sikh Center in the Richmond Hill neighbourhood and culminated at Times Square in the heart of Manhattan city on Sunday afternoon amid tight security. There was a heavy police presence in the area with several New York City Police Department (NYPD) vans and cars manning the area
On March 19, India’s High Commissioner to Ottawa Sanjay Kumar Verma had to cancel an appearance at a reception organised by the Friends of India and Canada Foundation in Surrey, British Columbia as nearly 200 protesters, some wielding swords, gathered in front of the venue, the Taj Park Convention Centre, and blocked the entrance.
