Khalistan radicals try to set fire to Ontario cinema twice in a week

NEW DELHI: While Canadian police focus on tackling the Bishnoi syndicate , pro-Khalistan elements attempted arson at a cinema theatre in Ontario twice within a week. The theatre has stopped screening Hindi movies since. The attacks were carried out on Oct 2 and Sept 25. In the second incident, the suspects fired gunshots to cause a scare.

Designated terror group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) released a statement on Friday calling on the Carney govt to ban all “Made In India” films.

In the first incident, two masked suspects wearing black clothing attempted to ignite a fire at the theatre’s entrance using flammable liquid from red gas cans, CCTV footage released by Khalistani elements shows. The fire was contained outside, causing moderate damage. This happened at 5.30am on Sept 25.

On Oct 2, around 1.50am, a single suspect, described by local police as a heavy-built male wearing black and a face mask, fired multiple shots at the theatre’s entrance doors.

Halton Regional Police said they were probing both incidents as targeted attacks.

The threatre’s CEO Jeff Knoll linked the attacks to the screening of south Asian films, adding that due to safety concerns, it had halted the screenings of Indian films ‘Kantara: A Legend Chapter 1’ and ‘They Call Him OG’.

SFJ chief Pannun claimed “Make in India” was no longer a cultural label but had become a political weapon for Modi’s regime. “Every screening and every product stamped ‘Made in India’ carries the imprint of a violent ideology that is driving India toward a Hindutva totalitarian state,” he said . Allowing Indian films and products into Canadian markets, he warned, was equivalent to opening the door to propaganda that normalises violence against pro-Khalistan Sikhs and undermines the values enshrined in Canada’s Charter.

Transnational organised crime is a concern for India & Canada, says govt
India and Canada had productive talks in the recent NSA-level meeting on advancing the bilateral relationship in areas such as counter terrorism, combating transnational organised crime and intelligence exchanges, said the govt responding to queries on Ottawa’s listing of the Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity.

MEA said security cooperation is an important agenda of continued bilateral collaboration. “Transnational organised crime is a particular concern to both countries. All countries, in fact, must come together to fight this menace,” said MEA spokesman Randhir Jaiswal. “They agreed to strengthen security cooperation and further reinforce existing mechanisms of engagement.”