Four injured in Toronto gurdwara brawl

Four persons were injured when two Canadian Sikh factions, armed with knives and construction axes, clashed at a gurdwara near here.

The brawl, involving as many as 100 people inside the Sri Guru Nanak Sikh Centre in Brampton, about 45km west of Toronto, was the result of a long-standing disagreement between two groups from the temple, according to the Montreal Gazette.

Canadian police have arrested three persons in connection with the fight and charged them with assault and possession of dangerous weapons.

"We will not tolerate violent behaviour. It's against the law and anybody who refuses to comply with the law will be charged and be dealt with appropriately," said a senior police official.

"The investigation is continuing and more people may be arrested," the paper quoted the police official as saying.

This is the second major incident of Sikh violence in the Canadian capital. Early this month, a prominent Indo-Canadian lawyer was stabbed multiple times at another gurdwara on the suburb of Brampton.

The stabbing was allegedly related to the lawyer's decision to invite a controversial Sikh preacher to speak at the gurdwara.

The latest incident comes just a day after a Vaisakhi parade in Vancouver where pro-Khalistan slogan and flags were raised.