Canada: Statue of Mahatma Gandhi Vandalised In Ontario

Toronto: A statue of Mahatma Gandhi was vandalised at a Hindu temple in the Richmond Hill City of Ontario in Canada on Wednesday.

As per reports, following the incident, the police are investigating the same with an angle of hate crime.

''A five-meter-high statue was disfigured at the Vishnu Mandir in the area of Yong Street and Garden Avenue. Officers were called on the spot at around 12.30 pm,'' said the York Regional Police.

York Regional Police spokeswoman Amy Boudreau said someone defaced the statue with "graphic words such as rapist and Khalistan.

"York Regional Police does not tolerate hate crime in any form. Those who victimize others on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, age, sex, gender identity, gender expression, and the like will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," he added.

The temple president Dr. Budhendra Dubey asserted that the statue has been in its current location, Shanti Park for more than 30 years.

''The statue has never been damaged in any way. However, on Wednesday morning it was found to be damaged,'' he added.

''We have lived so peacefully here in Richmond Hill for so many years and nothing like this has ever happened. We hope these things don't happen again. If we live the way Gandhiji taught us, we will not hurt anyone or any community," he said.

Meanwhile, India has expressed its deep anguish over the desecration of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi.

''We are distressed at the desecration of the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Vishnu temple in Richmond Hill. This criminal, hateful act of vandalism has deeply hurt the sentiments of the Indian community in Canada. We are in contact with Canadian authorities to investigate this hate crime,'' the India Consulate General in Toronto tweeted.

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