British Colombia, Canada
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said Wednesday (Sept 13) that they were investigating a case in which a 17-year-old Sikh student was assaulted by two other teenage males during a bus ride in British Colombia (BC) province.
As per the police, the incident took place “at the intersection of Rutland Road South and Robson Road East in Kelowna shortly before 4 pm on Monday.”
“Officers determined a 17-year-old Sikh student was either beer or pepper sprayed by another teenage male after exiting a public transit bus on his way home,” RCMP stated.
Assaulted after alleged ‘altercation’
RCMP said the students initially had heated arguments aboard the bus, which resulted in them getting kicked off.
However, the two attackers continued attacking the Sikh student and pepper-spraying. The assault continued until passers-by intervened.
Now, the World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSOC) has demanded authorities take prompt action into the matter while calling the assault “unacceptable and shocking.”
“Monday’s attack on a Sikh high school student in Kelowna is shocking and unacceptable,” said Guntaas Kaur, WSO vice president for British Columbia (BC).
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Giving details of the incident, a release issued by the WSOC said: “Two individuals approached the student and first barred his entry onto the bus and then, once allowing him to board, began to threaten him with a lighter and (began to) photograph and record him from a close distance with their phones”.
“When the Sikh student turned away, the attackers’ phone fell from their hands and they began to kick and punch the Sikh student in front of the bus driver,” the WSOC statement read.
Second such incident this year
This is the second such incident to have taken place on Canadian soil this year. In March, a 21-year-old Sikh student was beaten and dragged by a group of attackers. They even ripped his turban off, triggering severe criticism from Sikh groups.
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Now, as per local media, an active investigation has been opened by RCMP in the bus assault case, and authorities are talking to several witnesses and collecting video evidence.
Police further said that they have identified a teenage suspect in the case and are “taking steps to determine the motivation of this crime”.
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