Toronto: A 35-year-old Brampton resident in Canada—identified as Inderjeet Singh Gosal— was arrested by the Peel Regional Police allegedly for assault with a weapon following a violent demonstration at a temple on The Gore Road in Brampton last week. This is the fourth arrest in the case, reported the India Today.
The incident took place when tensions escalated between protestors and counter-protestors on November 3. Video footage issued by investigators with the 21 Division Criminal Investigations Bureau and the Strategic Investigation Team (SIT) shows individuals using flags and sticks to assault others during the confrontation.
Gosal, who serves as the Khalistan Referendum coordinator for the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) group in Canada, was taken into custody on November 8. He was released under conditions. He is scheduled to appear in court later.
Gosal had organized the protest outside the temple, according to a report in the Toronto Star. According to Gosal, the protest was directed solely against the Indian government and its officials, not the Hindu community. “This is not a Hindu and Sikh battle. This is strictly Sikhs versus the Indian government,” he said, as quoted in the report.
He claimed that a similar protest was conducted peacefully at Ross Gurdwara in Surrey, BC.
The SIT that is investigating the incidents of violence that broke out last Sunday and Monday is reviewing several videos and trying to identify additional suspects. Further arrests in connection with the demonstration are expected.
Earlier on Thursday, the Peel police had arrested Ranendra Lal Banerjee, 57, under charges of public incitement of hatred. Arrest warrants had been issued against two men in their 20s for allegedly uttering threats and conspiring to commit assault with a weapon.
A police officer was suspended over the incident of violence at a Brampton temple last Sunday.