Edmonton (October 13, 2016): The World Sikh Organization expresses its grave concern after reports that a fatal fire at an Alberta motel may be connected to racist graffiti found at the scene.
On October 9, a fire destroyed the Bashaw Motor Inn. The Bashaw Motor Inn is owned and operated by the Tiwana family, who are Punjabi Sikhs. Police have confirmed that a truck near the scene of the fire and a nearby wall were spray painted with racist grafitti. A body was found in the debris of the motel and three people were taken to hospital.
WSO Vice President for Alberta Tejinder Singh Sidhu said today, “we offer our deepest condolences to the Tiwana family for the loss they have suffered. This was a horrific tragedy and we are very concerned by reports that racist graffiti was found on the scene. We have confidence in the RCMP to fully investigate this matter and ensure that if this was a hate crime those responsible are quickly brought to justice. We continue to closely monitor this situation on an ongoing basis.”