Major crime detectives are investigating after a vehicle purportedly belonging to a prominent Sikh activist was burned outside his home in British Columbia.
Surrey police were called to the vehicle fire in the 14500 block of 91 Avenue at 11:45 p.m. Wednesday.
Firefighters were already working to extinguish the blaze when officers arrived and launched an arson investigation.
A bus that was also associated with the home was spray painted in an apparent act of vandalism, the Surrey Police Service said in a news release Thursday.
“It is believed that a suspect fled the area on foot after damaging the bus and setting fire to the vehicle,” the release said.
‘Terrorist attack’
While police said the motive for the arson remains under investigation, residents and activists identified the home and the vehicles as belonging to Narinder Singh Randhawa, an organizer of rallies for the pro-Khalistan movement, which seeks to establish an independent Sikh state in the Punjab region of India.
The RCMP had previously served Randhawa with a “duty to warn” notice, alerting him to a credible and imminent threat to his safety.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the lawyer for the separatist group Sikhs For Justice, called the arson a “terrorist attack” targeting Randhawa following a pro-Khalistan rally.
Randhawa is an associate of slain Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down outside his Surrey gurdwara in 2023 in an attack that former prime minister Justin Trudeau said was linked to the Indian government.
Sikhs For Justice is calling on police to investigate the incident as an act of terrorism.
“Burning a car will not burn our resolve,” said Pannun, the lawyer for the group.
“Our answer to this attack is to intensify the Khalistan Referendum campaign. Those responsible should understand we will not abandon the ballot or our commitment to liberating Punjab.”
Anyone who witnessed suspicious activity or has surveillance video from the area between 11 p.m. and midnight is asked to contact the Surrey Police Service at 604-599-0502.
