
Mounties in Kelowna have launched an investigation into an assault against a Sikh high school student which took place at a city bus stop on Monday afternoon. Authorities were alerted to the occurrence at Rutland Road South and Robson Road East just minutes shy of 4 p.m. The call referenced what was described as a “pepper spray incident” in a notice disseminated by Kelowna RCMP on Wednesday.
From the police probe, it was deduced that the 17-year-old Sikh student had either been bear or pepper sprayed by another teenage male, following his departure from a public transit bus on his route home. Prior to the assault, an altercation had ensued on the bus, culminating in those implicated being ejected from the vehicle, as per the police report.
While the RCMP missive refrains from elaborating on the nature of the occurrences aboard the bus, another notice independently issued by the World Sikh Organization of Canada intimates that the student encountered hostility while onboard the vehicle. According to the organization, two people obstructed the young man’s access to the bus before allowing him to board. Once he did, they are said to have menaced him with a lighter, while taking photographs and recording him on their phones from uncomfortably close proximity.
Upon the aggrieved teenager distancing himself from his tormentors, they supposedly began to physically assault him, even as the bus driver turned a blind eye. The organization has voiced its discontent at the driver’s lack of intervention and has petitioned BC Transit to review the driver’s actions on the day.
The assault on Monday is a shocking and intolerable affront, as stated by Guntaas Kaur, WSO vice president for B.C., who censured the indifference of the bus driver, lamenting the predicament of the victim who was left alone to defend against his attackers.
Mounties have gleaned information from several witnesses and have identified a teenage suspect in the case. They continue to amass more video, and other relevant evidence as part of their efforts to comprehend the motive underlying this crime.
According to the WSO, the victim, a newcomer to Canada, was left bewildered by the attack, unable to comprehend the reason behind his assault or the derogatory remarks slung at him during the incident. Kaur divulged her concerns about his fears of returning to school, wary of being attacked again.