Police involved in the evacuation of Parliament Hill on Saturday did not respond to allegations that they had wrongly arrested and detained two Sikh men in connection with a bomb threat that allegedly occurred. proved untrue.
Members of the United Sikhs Front of Canada held an event on Saturday to commemorate the massacre of Sikhs in India in 1984, as they have been doing every year since 2017. The activity was interrupted by what they called a terrorist fraud.
The event aims to commemorate the death and give survivors the opportunity to open up a dialogue with their community about how they feel, and say what they have seen.explained Harpreet Hansra, one of the event organizers.
According to his account, once at the scene on Saturday, the organizers received information that there was a security threat that would prevent them from holding their rally at the planned location. Mr. Hansra and several other participants moved to the Supreme Court, an area not within the security perimeter of the police services.
After they settled in, police asked Mr Hansra to identify Manveer Singh, another organizer. Soon, the third organizer, Parminder Singh, also received a call from the police.
According to Mr. Hansra, his two partners reported to the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) on their own free will to answer questions from investigators.
The two were released a few hours later. Harpreet Hansra reported that a brief conversation with police informed him that the threat that led to the closure of Parliament Hill was quite detailed.
They repeatedly tell us that we are victims of terrorism fraud and they apologize to us for canceling our event.he continued.
Police sources said CBC that the information received by the authorities, particularly the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), was that members of an extremist group, Babbar Khalsar, were heading to a demonstration with explosives.
This organization, also called Babbar Khalsar International (BKI), aims to establish an independent and fundamentalist Sikh state called Khalistanaccording to the Department of Public Safety Canada.
However, Mr. Hansra indicated that the two men identified as interested people is not a member of BKI.
Hapreet Hansra explained that they were two men very involved in their community, and this bullshit had nothing to do with their event or their community, so an apology to them was offered by the police.
The two individuals never posed a security threat. These members are prominent members of the community. They are both businessmen. Personally, I have known them for a long timesaid Mr. Hansra.
The police services did not confirm or deny the nature of their operations.
All Ottawa police officers were ordered to guard a group of three people, including Manveer Singh and Parminder Singh. The two confirmed to the Canadian Press that they were arrested and then released by police with a key apology.
It remains unclear whether the third person was identified or contacted by police.
The OPS said in a statement Monday that no security threat was identified in the latter.
” The Ottawa Police Service has no further updates as the investigation into the matter is complete. We can confirm that no charges were brought by OPS. “
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Parliamentary Police Service (PPS) redirected questions to OPS.
Investigation requested
The World Sikh Organization of Canada has called for an investigation into the events, and that those responsible for the fraud be held accountable. of targeting a Sikh rally in Ottawa with a fake bomb threata request repeated by Harpreet Hansra.
” The people who provided this information and created this huge chaos in Ottawa and in Parliament and around are actually the ones bringing terrorism to Canadians using these types of terrorist scams. “
As a Canadian who was born and raised in Canada and is very proud of Canada and very proud of being Canadian, yes, I think Canadians deserve an answer about who these people or this organization are, and where this terrorist’s deception took place. came fromMr. Hansra was furious
After police deemed Saturday afternoon’s threat credible, MPs, senators and their staff were ordered shelter in place while officers closed the streets to investigate a suspicious circumstances and the potential threat to Parliament Hill.
In downtown Ottawa, municipal police closed Wellington Street between Elgin Street and Bronson Avenue, as well as Metcalfe Street between Albert and Slater streets.
Senior government sources said CBC that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino were both aware of the incident. Mr. Trudeau was in Los Angeles then soon to return to Canada after the conclusion of the Summit of the Americas.
At 3:35 p.m., police continued to dismantle the security perimeter.
With information from CBC News ’David Fraser, Shaamini Yogaretnam, Avanthika Anand and Phil Ling
Radio Canada
Source: Radio-Canada
