RCMP VS SIKH'S AN OLD STORY

Two Sikh rally organizers say they were wrongly arrested amid Parliament bomb scare

Published on June 13, 2022
By Sonia Ulebor


OTTAWA — Two organizers of a Sikh event near Parliament Hill on Saturday say they are still in shock after being wrongfully arrested in connection with a bomb threat, an experience one of the men described as “disrespectful” and “harassment.”

Officials have released few details about the “potential threat” that prompted an evacuation of Parliament and closure of surrounding streets for several hours on Saturday. Police only said later in the day their investigation had concluded and no threat to public safety was found.

Manveer Singh and Parminder Singh say they are speaking out about the arrests in order to defend their reputations — and they are raising questions about who gave their names to investigators and why, as well as how police handled that information.

“It doesn’t make sense because I know I am not involved in anything. I’m proud as a Canadian Sikh. I love this country, I will do everything to protect this country,” said Parminder Singh.

“Why am I arrested? Because I’m wearing a turban and my skin is not white? What’s going on?”

The two men are organizers of a remembrance rally for the victims of the 1984 massacre of Sikhs in India. The group had received a permit to gather on the Hill, but when members arrived, they were told they were not allowed to be there because of an ongoing threat in the area.

They relocated to the lawn in front of the Supreme Court of Canada nearby to hold their event.

Harpreet Hansra, another rally organizer, said an officer sought to speak with him and asked him to identify Manveer Singh, who was designated as one of the MCs for the event.

A few minutes after the rally got underway, Manveer Singh said police arrested him and told him they had “credible information” that he was connected to a serious bomb threat on the Hill.

“They believed that I’m the one who’s gonna do that. I was shocked. I’m gathering my community here to bomb them?” he said, adding that police searched him, handcuffed him and brought him to the police station for questioning.

He said police asked to frisk his turban while searching him outside the Supreme Court.

“If I don’t obey their instructions they could have done anything to me, because the threat was very big, it was a security threat to the national Parliament.”

Parminder Singh said he was arrested not long afterward by Ottawa police, who told him that his name was connected to an alleged bomb threat of Parliament.

Ottawa police did not answer questions about the men’s account of events, saying only that the investigation into the matter is now concluded and no charges were laid.

The two organizers said that police also searched their cars for explosives.

The remaining organizers decided to wrap up their event sooner than planned due to fear of the ongoing threat and the fact that two of their members were taken by police, Hansra said.

Hansra went to the police station afterward with two other organizers, he said.

When in police custody, both men said officers had them take off their turbans. Manveer Singh said he was also made to remove other religious symbols including a bracelet called a kara and a ceremonial sword known as a kirpan.

“They wanted me to untie my turban because they have to search very closely … Because I believe that I was the terrorist at that time in their eyes,” he said.

After being in custody for a short while, Parminder Singh said police released him and apologized, adding they arrested him based on wrong information.

“We spoke to the officers that were there and they were very clear. They apologized profusely and said, ‘Sorry that this happened, and we know you guys have nothing to do with it,’” he said.

Both the men who were arrested said police told them that the information that connected them to the threat came from the Canada Border Services Agency.

“They said they have no further knowledge about who or what contacted CBSA, but the information was so detailed that it warranted them to take immediate action at Parliament,” Hansra said.

Rebecca Purdy, spokesperson for Canada Border Services Agency, said in a statement Monday that the agency works regularly with law enforcement to ensure border security, including intelligence and enforcement.

The RCMP said Monday that it can only confirm details related to criminal investigations where charges have been laid.

Ottawa police said in a statement Saturday that they received information about a potential threat near the parliamentary precinct, prompting them to close some surrounding streets to vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

The Parliamentary Protective Service also ordered an evacuation of Parliament Hill, issuing an alert to all members of Parliament and staff and noting all buildings in the precinct were to be under shelter-in-place orders until further notice.

Both of the rally organizers say they are worried about the damage done to their reputations as a result of being arrested in connection to the explosives threat.

Although police said they were conducting an investigation and if they did not find anything, they would release him, Parminder Singh said they should have done an investigation before arresting him.

“It’s deeply hurt my kids, my wife and also other community members,” Parminder Singh said, calling the experience “disrespectful” and “harassment.”

He said his group began organizing these rallies in 2017, to gather Sikhs from across Ontario and Quebec. Events have been cancelled over the past two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You’re arresting me doing a peacefully rally? I’ve been doing this for almost my whole life.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2022.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.



Erika Ibrahim, The Canadian Press

https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/lssns-lrnd/lssns-lrnd-eng.pdf

LESSONS TO BE LEARNED - Sécurité publique Canada 

Oct 11, 2005 ... The report of the Honourable Bob Rae,. Independent Advisor to the ... on board Air India Flight 182, and at Narita Airport, Tokyo, Japan.

https://terrorvictimresponse.ca/docs/Phase-1-report-The-Families-Remember.pdf

THE FAMILIES REMEMBER - Terror Victim Response 

Honourable Bob Rae, former premier of Ontario, considered ... is If Air India Flight 182 had been an Air Canada flight with all fair-.

http://summit.sfu.ca/system/files/iritems1/15624/etd9185_MSingh.pdf

The Bombing of Air India Flight 182: Demanding Justice, Public ... 

and as Bob Rae's (2005) Lessons to be Learned report and the final Air India Inquiry. Reports (2010a, 2010b) eventually state, these delays were directly ...

Police face growing questions, calls for 

investigation into false Parliament bomb 

tip


OTTAWA — Police are facing mounting questions about the origin of a false bomb tip that led to the arrest of two Sikh rally organizers near Parliament Hill on Saturday, with some calling for an investigation into those who alerted law enforcement about the men.



Marco Mendicino, minister of public safety, said engaging in a hoax for any reason is against the law, but it’s additionally concerning when a fake tip feeds into systemic biases.

He said he shares the concerns of the Sikh community about the incident.

"I cannot underline enough that engaging in any kind of a hoax for the purposes of misleading police, casting aspersions on a community, feeding into stereotypes, is wrong. It’s categorically wrong," said Mendicino on Tuesday.

Decisions around investigating a potential hoax are made independently by law enforcement, he said.

Harpreet Hansra, an organizer of the rally who spoke Tuesday on behalf of the men who were arrested, said they would like an investigation into where the tip came from, why police acted so quickly on it and then so swiftly deemed it to be a hoax.

Ottawa police have refused to answer questions about the men’s account of events, to provide more details about the tip or to say whether they will investigate those who made the claim, despite repeated requests from The Canadian Press.

The police service provided a one-line statement Monday saying only that the investigation into the matter has concluded and no charges were laid.

Hansra said the silence of Ottawa police worries him.

"As Canadians, we pride ourselves on transparency, on doing the right thing all the time. And we pride ourselves on being a safe haven for people from all over the world … This was not how the Sikh community felt on June 11," he said.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called attention to the different treatment this tip received from law enforcement compared to the response to the massive "Freedom Convoy" protest that overtook downtown Ottawa for more than three weeks in February.

"When we had people that were engaged in holding up signs and flags that were related to extreme right-wing organizations, dangerous organizations, their presence on the Hill, there was very little reaction (from police) and communities were hurt," said Singh.

In light of the police response to the blockades, he said the way the Sikh rally organizers were treated based on a false call "clearly shows there's a problem with the way threats are being taken."

The World Sikh Organization of Canada said Canadian law enforcement should fully investigate and prosecute those involved in providing the tip that led to the wrongful arrests.

“The hoax bomb threat targeting a Sikh rally in Ottawa is deeply concerning," said Tejinder Singh Sidhu, the president of the organization, which advocates for Sikhs in Canada.

"We call on law enforcement agencies, including the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, to fully investigate this incident and ensure those responsible for making the false threat are fully prosecuted and held accountable."

Brandon Champagne, spokesperson for the service, said it works closely with law enforcement across the country to ensure the safety of Canadians, but directed questions about investigations to Ottawa police, who are "leading the ongoing investigation into the incident."

Police have not confirmed an ongoing investigation is taking place.

Officials have released few details about the “potential threat” that prompted an evacuation of Parliament and closure of surrounding streets on Saturday. After several hours, police said no threat to public safety was found and the area reopened.

Manveer Singh and Parminder Singh have come forward about their arrests to defend their reputations and to raise questions about who gave their names to investigators and why, as well as to express concerns about how police handled that information.

Parminder Singh described the experience as “disrespectful” and “harassment.”

The two men are organizers of a remembrance rally for the victims of the 1984 massacre of Sikhs in India. They had a permit to hold the event on Parliament Hill, but were told when they arrived it was shut down due to an ongoing threat and they moved to a nearby location.

Soon after the rally started, the men say police arrested them and told them their names were connected to a serious bomb threat on the Hill. Manveer Singh said police claimed they had “credible information” linking him to the threat.

Police searched their cars for explosives before handcuffing them and taking them to the police station, where they were made to remove their turbans and questioned by officers, the men said. Manveer Singh also had to remove other religious symbols including a bracelet called a kara and a ceremonial dagger known as a kirpan.

The men said they were eventually released, with police apologizing and explaining that the pair were the victims of a "terrorism hoax."

Both the men said police told them that the information that connected them to the threat came from the Canada Border Services Agency.

The agency has said it works regularly with law enforcement to ensure border security, including intelligence and enforcement.

Spokesperson Judith Gadbois-St-Cyr said Tuesday that the agency does not comment on policing matters or investigations.

Robin Percival, spokesperson for the RCMP, that for privacy and operational reasons, it can only confirm details related to criminal investigations where charges have been laid.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2022.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Erika Ibrahim, The Canadian Press