Mocha Bezirgan: Canadian journalist alleges Khalistanis threatened and attacked him

Canadian journalist Mocha Bezirgan has alleged that a group of pro-Khalistan activists physically assaulted him while covering a rally in Vancouver on Sunday.

The journalist said he was deliberately attacked because of his earlier reports on Khalistan protests. "It just happened 2 hours ago and I am still shaking. I was surrounded by multiple Khalistanis who acted like thugs. They surrounded me, threatened me, and got physical with me, and they grabbed my phone out of my hand," Bezirgan told ANI.

He shared the video of the confrontaton, showing a group of men holding Khalistani flags in their hands. "Soon as I turn the camera to their faces 4 out of the 5 turns away. If so proud of your thuggery, why hide? Student visa expired?" he posted on X.

Bezirgan who has covered Khalistan protests in Canada, the UK, the US and New Zealand, claimed that the one of the attackers has been harassing him online for a long time using dehumanising language. He also shared screenshots of threats from a Khalistani man.

"My only goal is to do independent journalism and record and report what's going on and because I'm editorially independent, this frustrates some people," he added.

He said the attacker wanted to "influence and buy" him. "He is not even a Canadian citizen. He is from the UK. I was just there reporting on the event. Khalistanis gathered to honour their so-called martyrs, including the assassins of Indira Gandhi," the worried journalist said.

Bezirgan pointed out that that the Khalistan is a "very highly political subject" because of the strain in India-Canada ties. "But I feel like we are disregarding what’s happening underground. What these people are saying, how they are exercising their free speech while they are celebrating the assassins of Indira Gandhi and saying that they are going to ambush and kill India’s Prime Minister Modi’s politics at the G7,” he added.