Police investigating vandalism at Vancouver gurdwara, Surrey Hindu temple
Organizer at Hindu temple believes graffiti is an effort to divide people of different faiths
Police in Surrey and Vancouver are investigating after places of worship were targeted with graffiti over the weekend.
Vancouver police are looking for witnesses after a Sikh gurdwara was vandalized, while a Hindu temple in Surrey was defaced with spray-paint, organizers say.
The Khalsa Diwan Society Gurdwara on Vancouver's Ross Street said the vandalism is part of "an ongoing campaign by extremist forces that seek to instil fear and division within the Canadian Sikh community."
Meanwhile, organizers at Surrey's Lakshmi Narayan Mandir believe the vandalism is part of an effort to divide people of different faiths.
Vancouver police say suspects spray-painted on the walls outside the Ross Street gurdwara with graffiti written in both English and Punjabi.
A statement put out by the society when the vandalism was discovered says the walls were defaced with pro-Khalistan slogans.
The pro-Khalistan movement calls for the establishment of an independent Sikh state, called Khalistan, in parts of northern India.
A Vancouver Police Department (VPD) statement included images of a vehicle and two people who were outside the gurdwara when it was vandalized Saturday morning.
Police say they believe a truck drove through the area around the time of the offence and two people then walked near the front entrance of the temple.
VPD Sgt. Steve Addison said they are looking at the incident as a potential hate crime.
Organizers at Surrey's Lakshmi Narayan Mandir say the Hindu temple was also defaced over the weekend.
Vinay Sharma, secretary of the Vedic Hindu Cultural Society, said two people spray-painted the outside of the temple on Saturday at around 3 a.m. The word "Khalistan" was scrawled across the sign at the front gate.
Sharma says they have shared photos and video footage with Surrey police, who are working on the case.
The temple secretary believes the vandalism is part of an effort to scare people and foment hostility.
"We are mature enough as Hindus and Sikhs that we do not fight with each other," Sharma said.
"We know these people just want to divide and create a rift."
Addison said police in Vancouver and Surrey are working together to determine whether the incidents are connected.
With files from Rafferty Baker, Akshay Kulkarni and The Canadian Press