Indian diplomatic officials have canceled several consular events in Ontario after police responding to protests at temples in the Greater Toronto Area this week said holding the meetings at religious facilities contributed to increased tensions in the community.

The Indian consulate in Toronto said it was canceling some of the rallies planned for this month due to “Canadian security agencies reporting their inability to provide minimal security protection” to organizers, according to an article published Wednesday on the social networks.

The announcement follows a letter from Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah to Kapidhwaja Pratap Singh, India’s acting consul general in Toronto, requesting measures to prevent further risks and expressing “concerns important” regarding diplomatic outreach efforts known as consular camps. held in temples across the Greater Toronto Area.

“We believe that the location of consular camps near these religious facilities may be a contributing factor in increasing tensions at these gatherings,” Chief Duraiappah wrote in the letter dated Tuesday.

Brampton Sabha Hindu Temple was the scene of a melee Sunday as Indian government officials visited a consular camp at the facility. Videos posted online show Sikh separatist protesters and supporters of the Indian government engaged in scuffles outside the temple.

Peel Regional Police said three men were arrested and charged with various offenses including assault with a weapon, mischief and assaulting a police officer.

Later Sunday, pro-Indian government protesters gathered at the edge of the parking lot of a Sikh gurdwara in Mississauga.

On Monday evening, Peel Regional Police sent their riot squad to disperse a crowd of protesters who turned violent during another demonstration. Police then asked for the public’s help in locating a person who allegedly sprayed a noxious substance.

Modi links violence at Hindu temples in Brampton to attempts to ‘intimidate’ Indian diplomats in Canada

The Indian government said its diplomats and consular officials were carrying out outreach to help expatriates complete pension-related paperwork in consular camps, often held at temples and community centers.

But Sikh secessionist groups protested the move, accusing the Indian government of using the events as a cover for intelligence gathering. Sikh activists have long called for an independent country to be separated from India’s Punjab region.

The Sikh protests, in turn, inspired counter-protests by supporters of the Indian government in Canada.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown said earlier this week he wants city council to pass a new bylaw for ban demonstrations in places of worship.

According to the website of the Indian consulate in Toronto, authorities have canceled three consular camps: two planned for this weekend in Brampton and one on November 24 in Cambridge, Ontario. Several other meetings remained on the schedule.

Officials at the Indian High Commission in Ottawa and the Toronto consulate did not respond to messages from The Globe and Mail on Thursday.

Heightened tensions within the Greater Toronto Area’s large South Asian communities come amid growing concern about foreign interference in Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is engaging in covert campaigns of violence against Sikh separatists in Canada.

The two governments engaged in diplomatic expulsions last month after officials in Ottawa said they had evidence of New Delhi’s involvement in homicides, extortion and violent crimes on Canadian soil.