Canada denies hate crimes at Bhagavad Gita Park, says ‘zero tolerance’ for such attacks

Following India’s condemnation of ‘hate crime’ at Bhagavad Gita Park, the Canadian authorities denied any vandalism at the facility in Brampton city, saying that the reported blank sign was left during the repair work.

Brampton is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. The park – previously called Troyers Park – was renamed as Shri Bhagavad Gita Park and unveiled on September 28.

The High Commission of India in Canada tweeted on Sunday: We condemn the hate crime at the Shri Bhagavad Gita Park in Brampton. We urge Canadian authorities & @PeelPolice to investigate and take prompt action on the perpetrators.”

However, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown in a tweet on Sunday clarified that the incident was a ‘maintenance and reprinting work’. He said: “Following yesterday’s reports of vandalism of the recently unveiled Shri Bhagavad Gita Park, we took swift action to investigate further. We learned that the reported blank sign was installed by the builder as a placeholder until the permanent Shri Bhagavad Gita Park sign can be replaced tomorrow.”

Brown also thanked the Indian community: “We are pleased to learn of this outcome. We thank the community for bringing this to our attention, and ensuring Brampton is a safe and inclusive place to call home.”

Earlier, the Brampton Mayor, ahead of investigating the issue, said that Canada has “zero tolerance” for such attacks. “We are aware that the recently unveiled Shri Bhagavad Gita Park sign has been vandalized. We have zero tolerance for this. We have flagged Peel Regional Police for further investigation. Our Parks department is working to resolve and correct the sign as soon as possible,” Brown tweeted on Sunday.

Peel Regional Police also said: “There was no evidence of vandalism to the permanent sign or any park structure.” “Permanent sign is still waiting for the lettering to be applied and it was a temporary park sign used in the park naming ceremony,” Peel Police tweeted.

The NDTV reported that India last month had issued an advisory to its citizens in Canada citing a “sharp increase in incidents of hate crime, sectarian violence, and anti-India activities.”

Attacks and hate crimes against Indians have been witnessed in recent pasts in cities of the United States, Australia and Europe. The communal clash in the English city of Leicester was the latest one where several people were reportedly hurt in the stone pelting incidents.
However, the Washington Post reported that among the other reasons, “toxic politics that are roiling India — and leading to the persecution of Muslims, Christians and other religious minorities — have migrated to other parts of the globe.”

-INDIA NEWS STREAM