The statue, located at the City Hall in Hamilton, was vandalised with paint poured on it and abusive anti-India graffiti sprayed on at and near its base, and a Khalistan flag attached to it
Toronto: The vandalisation of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the town of Hamilton in the Canadian province of Ontario is being investigated as a hate crime.
In an email, a spokesperson for Hamilton Police said that the incident that took place in the early hours of Thursday is being investigated by the force’s Hate Crime Unit.
The spokesperson said Hamilton Police is appealing to members of the community with information to contact them.
The statue, located at the City Hall, was vandalised with paint poured on it and abusive anti-India graffiti sprayed on at and near its base, and a Khalistan flag attached to it. “We are aware of the defacing of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Hamilton City Hall this week,” a spokesperson for the City Manager’s office said.
City workers quickly removed the paint and the graffiti on Thursday and a complaint was lodged with the police. The City spokesperson said, “It is important to the City to ensure that respect for public spaces and property is maintained.”
“Where markings do risk the erosion of/compromise the integrity of the material of the property we take steps to remove it as quickly as possible,” she said.
The statue of the Mahatma has been at that location since 2012. The six-foot tall bronze statue had been gifted by the Indian government.
The vandalism was discovered early on Thursday morning.
This was the latest in a series of what appears to be linked episodes. In February, a Hindu temple in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) was desecrated, with anti-India and pro-Khalistan graffiti spraypainted on its back wall. The target of the vandalism was Shri Ram Mandir in the town of Mississauga in GTA.
On January 30, the Gauri Shankar Mandir in Brampton was similarly desecrated. Prior to that, a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, located at the Vishnu Mandir in Richmond Hill, was defaced in July last year. The 20-foot tall bronze statue was situated in the temple’s Peace Park. Weeks later, in September, an episode of such vandalisation occurred at the front entrance to BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Toronto.
None of these incidents have so far resulted in any arrests. While they have been linked by some to the so-called Punjab Referendum being organised by the secessionist group, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), Canadian law enforcement has yet to establish that connection.
As with previous episodes, a video of the incident, apparently taken during the night when the vandalisation occurred, was shared on social media by some apparently pro-Pakistan handles. The videos appear to have been removed from social media and the handles tweeting them suspended.
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2023-03-26 08:41:15Z
CBMimAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5oaW5kdXN0YW50aW1lcy5jb20vd29ybGQtbmV3cy9oYXRlLWNyaW1lLWNhbmFkaWFuLXBvbGljZS1pbnZlc3RpZ2F0ZS12YW5kYWxpc2F0aW9uLW9mLW1haGF0bWEtZ2FuZGhpLXN0YXR1ZS1pbi1oYW1pbHRvbi0xMDE2Nzk4MjAwNzU3NzYuaHRtbNIBnAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5oaW5kdXN0YW50aW1lcy5jb20vd29ybGQtbmV3cy9oYXRlLWNyaW1lLWNhbmFkaWFuLXBvbGljZS1pbnZlc3RpZ2F0ZS12YW5kYWxpc2F0aW9uLW9mLW1haGF0bWEtZ2FuZGhpLXN0YXR1ZS1pbi1oYW1pbHRvbi0xMDE2Nzk4MjAwNzU3NzYtYW1wLmh0bWw
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