Canadian investigative journalist Mocha Bezirgan has accused Khalistani supporters of assaulting and threatening him when he was reporting a rally in central Vancouver. The attack reportedly occurred on Sunday at a pro-Khalistan rally to remember those whom the group referred to as "martyrs," including the killers of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. “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 in an interview.

Bezirgan, who has reported extensively on Khalistani protests in Canada, the US, the UK and New Zealand, said he was targeted by a familiar face who has previously harassed him online using dehumanising language. “all of a sudden, I had 2-3 people surrounding me with the same physical closeness, like I had nowhere to go. I was recording secretly from my main camera because I felt that something physical was about to happen. I started recording from my phone as well. As soon as I started recording, they turned their faces away, but this one individual kept walking towards me, and then eventually he grabbed my phone out of my hand for a moment...I have more footage I'm about to upload on my channel.” Bezirgan recounted. Passersby and nearby police officers came to his assistance, telling the man to step back. Bezirgan subsequently made a police report, but no arrests have been reported so far.

Followed, Intimidated, And Filmed In Fear

The harassment persisted beyond the rally. Bezirgan said the same man tailed him for a few blocks, including onto a SkyTrain platform. “I had nowhere to go. It was clear intimidation,” he added. He also asked for the deportation of the man, whom he described as a British national. The incident is the latest in a series of attacks on journalists reporting on Khalistani extremism. In October 2024, Canadian MP Chandra Arya alerted Parliament to the rising hostility against reporters, referencing attacks against journalists Rishi Nagar, Sameer Kaushal, and others. Bezirgan himself had received death threats in the past.

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Fears Surrounding Khalistani Extremism In Canada

When questioned on the wider Khalistani movement, Bezirgan underlined the activities of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) and the World Sikh Organization, which he described as providing both ground-level mobilization and political legitimacy. "This is a movement headed by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ). They are the ones organising it, and most of the time, it's the same people attending these protests, whether it be in Ontario, British Columbia, US, UK, New Zealand. They mobilise people to come from local Gurudwaras to create a little bit of crowd, but there are bigger political organizations like the World Sikh Organization, which is based in Canada and they are they have a troubled history and they do the political cover in Canada," he mentioned.

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He further warned of how extremist elements within the movement are glorifying violence. "Because of the tensions between Canada and India, it's a very highly political subject, 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 Indian Prime Minister Modi's politics at the G7. I asked them are you going to kill his politics the same way you killed Indira Gandhi's politics? Because they refer to the assassins as their forefathers. They say we are the descendants of the killers of Indira Gandhi, and they are glorifying these acts of violence," he told this to ANI. Bezirgan stressed that while Canada–India relations remain politically strained, “we must not ignore what’s happening underground.”