A statue outside a Hindu temple in Richmond Hill has been vandalized in an incident local police are treating as hate-motivated.
York Regional Police said on Wednesday at around 12:30 p.m., officers received reports that a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at a Hindu Temple in the Yonge Street and Garden Avenue area had been vandalized.
Photos shared with Global News appear to show the words “Khalistan” and “rapist” spray painted on the statue.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and “is being investigated as a hate-motivated incident.”
In a news release, the force said it does “not tolerate hate crime in any form.”
“Those who victimize others based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, age, gender, gender identity, gender expression sexual orientation, or mental or physical disability will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” the release read.
Gandhi was a key leader in India’s campaign for independence from the British empire. He was known for his non-violent protests, including hunger strikes.
In a tweet, the Toronto’s Consulate General of India condemned the graffiti, calling it a “criminal, hateful act of vandalism.”
The High Commission of India in Ottawa said it had begun a dialogue with the federal government around the incident.
“We are deeply anguished by this hate crime that seeks to terrorize the Indian community. It has led to increased concern and insecurity in the Indian community here,” the high commission said in a tweet.
A report presented to the York Regional Police Services Board earlier this year found the rate of hate crimes in the region grew in 2021.
The total number of hate crimes reported to police rose 22 per cent – to 195 in 2021 from 160 in 2020 – the report found.
“There has been a stark increase in hate incidents in 2021, not only in York Region but throughout Canada,” the police report said.
The number of crimes motivated by anti-religious hate also increased significantly, growing to 58 incidents last year. The majority of those incidents, 43, were against the Jewish community.