The Consulate General of India in Vancouver has expressed strong condemnation for the recent assault on a 17-year-old Sikh high school student at a bus stop in Canada's British Columbia province. The incident, which occurred at the intersection of Rutland Road South and Robson Road East, is being viewed as a potential hate crime. According to local reports, the Sikh student was involved in an altercation with another teenager, which escalated into a physical assault where he was allegedly kicked, punched, and pepper-sprayed.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police issued a statement, stating that a 17-year-old Sikh student was either beer or pepper sprayed by another teenage male after disembarking from a public transit bus on his way home. The altercation initially began on the bus itself, leading to the removal of those involved.
The Consulate General of India, in a social media post, called for a thorough investigation by Canadian authorities and swift action against the individuals responsible for the assault. Additionally, the World Sikh Organisation of Canada has claimed that the student faced aggression while still on the bus. Allegedly, the two assailants prevented him from boarding, verbally threatened him, and recorded the incident with their phones at close range.
The situation escalated when the attackers physically assaulted the Sikh student in front of the bus driver, who did not intervene and later ordered both the victim and the attackers to disembark at the Rutland and Robson stop. After leaving the bus, the victim faced further violence, including being pepper-sprayed, until bystanders finally stepped in to help.
Guntaas Kaur, Vice-President for British Columbia at the World Sikh Organisation, expressed shock and condemned the incident, labeling it as "shocking and unacceptable." Notably, this incident marks the second occurrence of violence against a Sikh youth on public transit in the city this year.
