International - India & World   

Canada may use force to deport Sikh refugee

Toronto: Canada has threatened to use force to deport a paralysed Indian Sikh, who entered the country allegedly on a false passport five years ago and is now taking sanctuary in a gurudwara.

“There are limits to the ‘sensitivity’ border agents have so far shown in trying to avoid confrontations with protesters as they try to deport a paralysed refugee-seeker from India,” Canadian Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said. The Minister did not rule out the possibility of the police entering the gurudwara to deport 48-year-old Laibar Singh, who had lost legal battle to stay in the country.

Flaying the gurudwara management for sheltering Singh, he said: “There are a few and there are rare circumstances across the country where places of worship are used as sanctuary. There is no law that actually provides for that.”

“Mr. Singh might be in a mall or a gurudwara; he was not entitled to stay in Canada any more and will be deported,” the Minister said.

He warned the India-Canadian supporters for resisting deportation of Mr. Singh and said there are limits to “patience.”

Mr. Singh’s supporters have twice stopped police attempts to deport him. — PTI

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Musharraf sending feelers for national government?
Scotland Yard “agrees” Al-Qaeda killed Benazir
Peace envoy arrives for talks with Colombo
Bangladesh may lift emergency
NSG hopeful of giving waiver to India
Zee looking for landing rights
Canada may use force to deport Sikh refugee

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu