A Hindu temple in Brampton, Ontario, where violence erupted over the weekend, was the scene of another protest Monday evening that police broke up after saying weapons were spotted in the crowd.

Peel Regional Police said in social media updates that the protest was declared an unlawful assembly shortly before 10 p.m., after officers saw weapons “within the protest.”

Police said the protest converged on an intersection outside the Hindu temple Sabha Mandir, halting traffic along Gore Road in both directions, before the crowd dispersed at 1am.

Pro-Hindu groups who shared details of Monday’s protest suggested it came in response to Sikh separatists who protested a visit by Indian consular officials to the temple on Sunday.

Three people were arrested and a Peel police officer was suspended after Sunday’s protest, with videos on social media appearing to show fights and people hitting each other with sticks on what appears to be temple grounds.

In response to Monday’s protest, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown shared a video of a man he accuses of trying to “direct violence against people of the Sikh faith.”

“Agitators who attempt to incite violence must be dealt with swiftly and to the full extent of our hate laws,” Brown said in an article published Tuesday morning on X.

The Canadian Press has not independently verified the content of the social media video posts.

Before Monday’s protest, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned Sunday’s violence, calling it a deliberate attack on a Hindu temple and an attempt to intimidate diplomats.

Canada expelled six Indian diplomats last month over allegations they used their positions to gather information about Canadians participating in the Sikh separatist movement, then passed the details to criminal gangs who directly targeted those individuals.

India, which has rejected the allegations, has long accused Canada of harboring terrorists involved in a Sikh separatist movement demanding an independent country called Khalistan. Canadian officials have said extradition requests linked to India often lack adequate evidence.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published November 5, 2024.

The Canadian Press