Hindu temple vandalised in Canada, pro-Khalistan posters put up

One of the biggest and oldest Hindu temples in the province of British Columbia in Canada, the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir, was vandalised by extremist elements late on Saturday, with Khalistan referendum posters being put up on the premises of the temple.

Australia Today reported the vandalism incident, sharing a video of the attack.

The video, a clip taken from CCTV footage that has since gone viral, shows masked men pasting posters and taking photos before fleeing the temple premises.

Among the posters put up, the one on the front gate carried a picture of Khalistan Tiger Force chief and designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed outside a temple in British Columbia on June 18 this year in what police had described as a "targeted attack".

The poster also carried the words 'Khalistan referendum', along with the message, 'Canada investigates India's role in 18th June assassination'.

Notably, Saturday's incident is the fourth such attack to take place on Hindu temples in Canada this year.

In April this year, the BAPS Swaminarayan temple in the province of Ontario was vandalised, with anti-India graffiti being spray-painted.

A couple of months before that, in February, the Ram Mandir in Missisauga also fell prey to a vandalism incident—anti-India messages were painted on the walls of the temple, prompting the Consulate General of India in Toronto to strongly condemn the act.

At the beginning of the year in January, a Gauri Shankar Mandir in Brampton was also defaced with anti-India graffiti.