No charges (so far) for the chaos in Mississauga during Diwali, but “the matter is currently under review”

by Marzio Pelù

TORONTO – Two months ago, on 12nd November, Diwali festivities turned violent in a parking lot close to the Westwood Mall in Malton, in between the cities of Mississauga and Brampton: after transforming the car park into a sort of waste dump, with remains of fireworks abandoned on the ground, a group of people began throwing these objects at another group, with the risk of damages and injuries. Everything was immortalized in a video where you can clearly see what happened (click here to watch the video). 

The situation degenerated to such a point that the intervention of the Peel Police became necessary: agents restored order, as confirmed by the Public and Media Relations Office of the Peel Regional Police, in an e-mail sent to our editorial office after our questions: “Police were called to Westwood Mall during this incident and were present to dispel the large crowd. However, the majority of offences were Bylaw offences and not criminal offences. Bylaw offences such as loitering and deploying fireworks are typically enforcement by Mississauga Bylaw Enforcement, although Police may attend these in these situations to help disperse large gatherings.”

On its behalf, the City of Mississauga replied with an e-mail to our questions that “no charges have been laid at this time”, but “the matter is currently under review”. 

The video became viral and was seen all over the world, giving Canada the image of a country in chaos.

Times of India published the video on its YouTube channel (3,300,000 subscribers), writing in the description: “In Canada, Khalistani extremists targeted Diwali celebrations in Mississauga by gatecrashing the event and throwing stones at attendees. The festivities were allegedly interrupted by pro-Khalistani groups displaying Khalistani flags, as depicted in a viral video on social media. The video shows these elements raising ‘Khalistan Zindabad’ slogans, leading to an escalation of the situation and chaos at the Diwali celebration. Police intervention became necessary to restore order after the disruption caused by Khalistani elements.” Here below, the video published by Times of India.

Another Indian media, Oneindia News (1,100,000 subscribers), published the video on its YouTube channel, writing:  “A video capturing the Diwali celebration in Brampton, Canada, gained widespread attention as groups displaying Khalistani flags reportedly disrupted the event, leading to chaos. Allegedly gate-crashing the celebration, these groups threw stones, prompting police intervention. The situation escalated into what authorities described as an ‘internal community fight,’ with concerns rising.” Here below, the video published by Oneindia News.

Diwali is one of the most important traditional Indian holidays and should celebrate the victory of good over evil, but in Canada it seems to have become a good reason for “showdowns” within the Indian community, since the episode of last November 12th is not an isolated case. Also in 2022 something similar happened, as you can see in the tweet below, from Twitter – X.