'Surrounded, threatened': Canadian journalist alleges assault by Khalistanis
The journalist alleged that he was attacked by an individual who had been harassing him for a “long time online using dehumanising language”
An independent Canadian journalist has alleged that he was “surrounded and threatened” by a group of Khalistan supporters and briefly had his phone snatched while filming their weekend rally in downtown Vancouver.
“It just happened two hours ago and I’m still shaking,” Mocha Bezirgan told news agency ANI in a telephonic interview. “They acted like thugs – crowding in on me, grabbing my phone, trying to stop me recording.”
‘Deliberately targeted’
The journalist said he was targeted for his editorial independence and previous coverage of Khalistan-related protests. He alleged that the attackers acted like “thugs” and deliberately targeted him.
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"It just happened 2 hours ago and I am still shaking. I was surrounded by multiple Khalistanis who acted like thugs. They surrounded me, threatened me, and got physical with me, and they grabbed my phone out of my hand," Bezirgan said, sharing the ordeal on X.
The journalist alleged that he was attacked by an individual who had been harassing him for a “long time online using dehumanising language”.
“I have been covering Khalistan protests in Canada, UK, US, New Zealand. My only goal is to do independent journalism and record and report what's going on and because I'm editorially independent, this frustrates some people,” he said. He further alleged that the pro-Khalistani groups want to “influence” and “buy” him.
Not the first time
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He said the alleged attacker had targeted him earlier as well, and that he had filed a police report at the time. He added that he has filed another report today.
India has repeatedly raised concerns over Canada reportedly giving a free hand to Khalistani extremists and their supporters. Bilateral ties between the two countries have hit a new low in recent times, largely due to Ottawa’s perceived inaction on the issue and its accusations against New Delhi of targeting pro-Khalistani elements in Canada.