Toronto, September 14: In an apparent case of hate crime, a 17-year-old Sikh high school student was assaulted at a bus stop after an altercation with another teenager in Canada's British Columbia province, according to a media report on Thursday. The incident took place on Monday in Kelowna at the intersection of Rutland Road South and Robson Road East where the high school student was allegedly "kicked, punched and pepper-sprayed", CTV news reported.

"Officers determined a 17-year-old Sikh student was either beer or pepper sprayed by another teenage male after exiting a public transit bus on his way home," a statement by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said. Before the assault, there was "an altercation" aboard a bus, which resulted in those involved being kicked off, police said. While police have not released more details, the World Sikh Organisation of Canada has alleged that the student was also assaulted while aboard the vehicle. Sikh Holy Book Set on Fire in UK: Burnt and Torn Gutka Sahib Found Outside Home in Leeds, Hate Crime Probe Launched

"Two individuals approached the student and first barred his entry onto the bus and then, once allowing him to board, began to threaten him with a lighter and photograph and record him from a close distance with their phones," the CTV news report quoted the organisation's statement. "Monday's attack on a Sikh high school student in Kelowna is shocking and unacceptable," Guntaas Kaur, WSO vice president for British Columbia was quoted as saying. Hate Crime on NYC Subway Video: Asian Woman Punched, Her Family Harassed by Teenage Girls on New York City Subway Train; Probe Underway

This is the second such instance of violence against a Sikh youth riding public transit in the city this year. Earlier in March, a 21-year-old Sikh student from India, Gagandeep Singh, was attacked in British Columbia province by a group of unknown men who ripped off his turban and dragged him across the sidewalk by his hair.

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