Violence broke out outside the Indian Consulate in Toronto, Canada amid a protest by pro-Khalistan supporters on Saturday. Members of the Indian community staged a counter rally outside the consulate waving the Indian tricolour to send out a message. This comes a day after a temple in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) was defaced with a poster targeting Indian diplomats.
Videos of the rallies were doing rounds on social media platforms. According to reports, two Khalistani protesters were apprehended by police.
The pro-Khalistan protests in Toronto were part of the series of demonstrations held around the world, as also seen in Melbourne and San Francisco, to condemn the June 18 killing of Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. Nijjar was wanted in India on terrorism charges and carried a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head.
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He was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Canada last month.
San Francisco protests
A similar scene erupted outside the Indian consulate in San Francisco. A video by Khalistan supporters, dated July 2 and posted on Twitter, showed the act of arson, with the words "violence begets violence" emblazoned over it.
It also showed news articles related to the death of Canada-based Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
American lawmakers and several Indian-American community organisations have denounced the attack and called for a thorough probe into the incident to bring perpetrators to justice.
They also condemned the threats issued to Indian diplomats, including India's Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, by separatist Sikhs and called on the Biden administration to ensure safety of foreign diplomats.
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Protests in London
A small group of pro-Khalistani protesters turned out for a demonstration called outside the Indian High Commission in London on Saturday. Protesters used controversial posters inciting violence with images of the Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami and Dr Shashank Vikram, Consul General of India in Birmingham but had a relatively low-key turnout.
There was also a visible police presence throughout the rally.
Earlier this week, the UK government declared that any direct attacks on the High Commission of India in London are unacceptable amid anti-India attacks and posters by Khalistani extremists seen on social media channels.
