An Indian political activist's home was shot in Brampton ahead of the Toronto protest

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Pro-Sikh activist Inderjit Singh Ghosal says his home in Brampton was targeted and shot.

An Indian political activist says she won't back down after shots were fired at her Brampton home ahead of a planned rally in Toronto this weekend.

“No amount of threats or violence will stop me from advocating for the liberation of Punjab from Indian occupation,” Khalistan Referendum organizer Inderjit Singh Ghosal of Brampton said in a statement.

Activist group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) says a bullet hole was found in a house owned by Ghosal in Brampton that is still under construction.

Peel Regional Police confirmed officers were called to a residence in the North McLaughlin Road area of ​​Brampton around 11:45 a.m. Monday for a report of a shooting, according to a video posted on social media showing a police cruiser at the scene.

The bullet hole was found by workers who reported the damage to the police, and the spokesperson says no one was home at the time of the shooting.

Ghosal was involved in the Khalistan Referendum – a worldwide non-binding vote calling for the SFJ state of Punjab to secede from India and become the Sikh state of Khalistan.

While police said it was too early to say whether Ghosal was targeted because of his pro-Sikh politics, the SFJ said the shooting was part of a campaign of violence to stop the referendum and was at least the second incident targeting Sikh activists.

“It appears that only one bullet hole was found, but that could change,” a police spokesperson told Insauga.com. “Investigators are aware of the owner and his association and the investigation is still early.”

Last week, BC police arrested two youths, days after another pro-Khalistan organizer, Simranjeet Singh, helped organize a pro-Khalistan protest at the Indian consulate in Vancouver.

Ghosal has also organized demonstrations at the Indian consulate in Toronto, the latest on Saturday to mark the eight-month anniversary of the killing of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijar.

Referendum voting began in October 2022, and SFJ voted in Brampton, Surrey, the UK, Switzerland and Italy, among others. The separatist group is based in the US and is calling for the state of Punjab to secede from India and become the state of Khalistan.

The group has been banned by the Indian government, and its leader, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, has been declared a terrorist in the country for promoting separatism and inciting Sikh youth to join militancy.

It is at the heart of an international plot that US prosecutors have targeted for his assassination and that it was allegedly orchestrated by an Indian government official.

In a statement, Pannum said that despite the attack, the SFJ was “destined to use ballots to liberate Punjab from Indian occupation”.

News of the shooting comes as Mississauga and Brampton police grapple with a rise in extortion targeting members of the South Asian community.

The Khalistan movement made international headlines last year when Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijar was shot dead in Surrey, leading to allegations that India may have been involved in the assassination of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The announcement sparked a diplomatic row between the two countries, with India temporarily suspending all visa services for Canadian citizens.

Nijar was shot dead outside the Sikh Cultural Center in Surrey on June 18. Nijar, a prominent member of the Khalistan movement, was reportedly involved in promoting the referendum vote in Brampton.

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