Community members were left reeling Tuesday after tense protests at a Hindu temple in the Greater Toronto Area led to police intervention two nights in a row, with the clashes fueling Canada’s already sour diplomatic relations and India.

On Monday evening, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton, Ontario, where police said people in the crowd were carrying weapons and objects were being thrown.

The protest came after violent protests Sunday outside the same temple spread to two other locations in Mississauga, Ontario.

Varsha Shah said she was attending a temple service with her family on Sunday evening when the protests broke out and attendees were asked to stay indoors for their safety.

Shah said she regularly attends the Hindu Sabha temple and has never seen a conflict like this since she left India for Canada 25 years ago.

“It hurts me a lot (and) I’m not an emotional person,” Shah said.

“We have to protect ourselves,” she said. “We live here in peace. We don’t want to fight anyone.”

Shah added that she hopes the violence will not discourage people from visiting the temple. “People don’t need to worry. Temple is safe.”

Groups that supported Monday’s protest suggested it was a response to Sunday’s, initiated by Sikh separatists who aspire to an independent nation called Khalistan.

Peel Regional Police said Monday night’s protest converged on an intersection outside the temple, cutting off traffic on Gore Road in both directions.

Police said in a statement that the demonstration had been “declared illegal” after weapons were seen in the crowd. The force’s public order unit was deployed, allowing the groups to be dispersed on Monday evening.

“Several hundred demonstrators from opposing camps increased tensions and events quickly escalated,” said police spokesman Richard Chin. “During the evening, demonstrators were observed in possession of wooden sticks that could be used as weapons and objects thrown at cars and people.”

Peel police are asking for the public’s help to identify an individual who allegedly sprayed a “harmful substance” during Monday’s protests, leaving one person slightly injured.

The World Sikh Organization of Canada condemned Monday’s protest.

“What happened last night was deeply disturbing and rooted in deliberate incitement,” the organization’s Ontario president, Jaspreet Kaur, said in a statement Tuesday, urging law enforcement to pursue the people involved.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown also denounced alleged calls for anti-Sikh violence during Monday’s protest.

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

Brown’s latest comments come after he urged protesters on both sides to “de-escalate” following Sunday’s demonstration outside the temple.

Brampton County. Gurpartap Singh Toor, in whose parish the temple is located, encouraged those with information about the violence to contact law enforcement.

“We absolutely need to make one thing clear: This is Canada. This kind of behavior has no place in Canada,” Toor told reporters outside the temple Tuesday.

“No matter which side of the equation you are on, if you engage in violent activity, action will be taken.”

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.

Protests also took place at a temple in Surrey, British Columbia.

Tuesday, during question period in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “unequivocally” condemned the violence observed over the past two days in certain South Asian communities.

“Let me be very, very clear: individuals who incite violence, division and hatred in no way represent the Sikh community or the Hindu community of Canada,” Trudeau said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he expects Canada to “ensure justice,” while calling Sunday’s protest in Brampton a deliberate attack on a Hindu temple and an attempt to intimidate diplomats .

The group Sikhs for Justice said Khalistan supporters had protested against Indian consulate officials who announced a visit to the Brampton temple to provide administrative services such as helping the elderly access their pensions. The group claimed that these visits were used to find informants to report on Khalistan supporters.

Canada expelled six Indian diplomats last month over allegations they used their positions to gather information about Canadians participating in the Sikh separatist movement and 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 the Sikh separatist movement. Canadian officials have said extradition requests linked to India often lack adequate evidence.

Meanwhile, Brown said he plans to bring a motion to the city council to consider banning protests at places of worship.

Similar regulations have been considered in other parts of Ontario.

In the neighboring municipality of Vaughan, municipal council unanimously approved a bylaw in June prohibiting “organizing or participating in a harmful demonstration” within 100 meters of “vulnerable social infrastructure” such as places of worship , schools, daycares or hospitals.

Last week, Ottawa city council voted to study the feasibility of a similar bylaw, with the intention of staff reporting their findings by early next year.

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

Rianna Lim and Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press