Canadian police have arrested Inderjeet Gosal, 35, in connection with last week’s violent attack at a Hindu temple in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

The Peel Regional Police (PRP), however, Gosal was released on conditionsordering him to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton at a later date.

The incident – which took place at the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton on November 3 – saw Khalistan extremists violently attack Hindu-Canadian devotees. The PRP intervened when protests, involving flags and banners, quickly turned into physical attacks, according to a police statement.

At the center of this whole incident is Inderjeet Gosal, coordinator of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a group banned in India. Officials say Gosal is the main organizer of Canada’s so-called Khalistan referendum and has been charged in connection with the attack on the Hindu temple in Brampton last week.

What do we know about Inderjeet Gosal

• Inderjeet Gosal replaced Hardeep Singh Nijjar as the lead Canadian organizer of Sikhs for Justice after the latter’s assassination in British Columbia in June 2023. He is considered the lieutenant of SJF General Counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who was designated a terrorist by India.
• Canadian police had said Gosal was among 13 citizens of the country who were targets of criminal violence targeting pro-Khalistan elements. Pannun had said Ontario provincial police – in conjunction with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police – had issued a “duty to warn” notice to Gosal.

• The SFJ, meanwhile, claimed that Gosal was targeted during a pro-Khalistan protest against the Hindu temple in Brampton, which was hosting a consular camp at the time. Indian officials from the Toronto consulate were present at the scene during this period.
• Last month, Gosal had said that he was not afraid of dying if it was for the establishment of an independent homeland for Sikhs in Punjab. “I know why I signed, death does not scare me,” declared Gosal, quoted by The Financial Times.
• The demand for an independent Sikh state – Khalistan – dates back to the independence movement. The movement gained further strength after the anti-Sikh killings that took place following the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Gosal and others like him reportedly called it a “genocide,” which forced thousands of Sikhs to flee their country and pushed many to emigrate to Canada.

Notably, in addition to ongoing diplomatic tensions between New Delhi and Ottawa, the attack on the Hindu temple has further escalated tensions in the country. Several political leaders, including the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself, condemned the attack. MP Chandra Arya had said, “Our country’s leaders have failed to protect Hindus.”

The Indian High Commission in Canada has condemned “violent disturbances” by anti-Indian elements outside a consular camp.