Hindu temple vandalised: Priest urges revocation of passports of those involved

The founder and priest of the Gauri Shankar temple in Brampton which was targeted with antiIndia graffiti on Tuesday urged the Indian government to revoke the passports of all those involved in the antiIndia activities in CanadaDhirendra Tripathi who has been living in Brampton city for more than two decades also demanded stern action from the Canadian authorities against those who on Monday vandalised the temple with hatefilled messages directed towards India causing an outrage among the Indian communityAccording to Tripathi the vandalisation of the Gauri Shankar Temple committed by antisocial elements took place on Monday nightThe priest said there were no cameras in the street where the perpetrators wrote hateful messages on the roadside wall of the templeWe urged that the Indian government consider revoking passports and not issuing visas to Canadian passport holders involved in antiIndia activities so that they will not be able to return to India ever Tripathi told PTIKhalistanis have caused fear among us They have become emboldened and the community is uncertain about their next actions Canadian authorities should take stern steps to curb their activities Tripathi addedThe Indian Consulate General in Toronto said the defacing of the temple had deeply hurt the sentiments of the Indian community in CanadaWe have raised our concerns on the matter with Canadian authorities the consulate office said in a statement on TuesdayThe Canadian authorities are currently investigating the vandalisation which is not an isolated incident In the past seven months at least three similar acts of vandalism have been recorded in CanadaAlso Read Restore churches neglected during Portuguese rule in Goa BJP leader RodriguesTripathi reported the vandalisation of the Gauri Shankar Temple to the police and has received assurances from local officials including MP Sonia Siddhu that the incident will be thoroughly investigatedBrampton mayor Patrick Brown condemning the defacing said This hateful act of vandalism has no place in our city or country I have raised my concerns over this hate crime with Peel Regional Police chief Nishan Duraiappah Everyone deserves to feel safe in their place of worshipThe Ayodhyaborn priest of the Brampton temple believes that Canadian law needs to be strengthened to better deal with antisocial elementsLaw is too flexible and should be revised to effectively tackle such activities he stressedLast September the Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement condemning the rise of hate crimes against Indians and antiIndia activities in Canada expressing their concern with stern languageStatistics Canada reported a 72 per cent increase in hate crimes based on religion sexual orientation and race between 2019 and 2021This has led to increased fears among minority communities particularly the Indian community which is the fastestgrowing demographic group in Canada accounting for almost four per cent of the populationThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever