The event is organized by the Vedic Hindu Cultural Society of British Columbia, after warnings by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police of an extortion racket threatening local business owners
Our Bureau
Surrey
Leaders of the Hindu community in Canada’s Surrey will hold a public forum over the “current law and order situation” in the Lower Mainland, as reported by Global News.
The event is organized by the Vedic Hindu Cultural Society of British Columbia, after warnings by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) of an extortion racket threatening local business owners.
On December 27, the house of the society’s president’s son was targeted. Although Satish Kumar’s son was not injured in the incident, bullet holes hit his property in Newton area. Kumar, a business owner and president of the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir temple, said, “The community is very scared right now.”
“A lot of people got phone calls and letters…I heard some people gave them the money too,” he was cited as saying according to Global News report.
The Metro Vancouver business owner said the incident had rattled him and he is calling for attendance at the forum in Surrey. He said, “My children are afraid, my mom and dad are very afraid, you know, they don’t want me leaving the house.” He said the recent arrests announced by Surrey RCMP did not offer much comfort.
The police is dealing with similar investigations of extortion schemes targeting business owners in South Asian communities in at least three provinces. According to tactic investigators, these schemes are commonly used by organized crime groups in Punjab region.
In early December 2023, police in British Columbia’s Abbotsford revealed that extortion letters had been circulating among businesses in the city and that its major crime unit was looking into the matter.
Other police agencies are now involved in a multi-jurisdictional investigation in British Columbia. According to the police, similar extortion schemes were being investigated in Ontario and Alberta.
The unsettling turn of events prompted India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, to express grave concern about the safety of the Indian community in Canada.
