Two Sikh men were barred from entering a store for wearing their kirpans-the ceremonial religious swords, in Winnipeg, Canada on Thursday.
68-year-old Harpal Singh Gill and his friend Joginder Sidhu, both baptised Sikhs, were stopped by a woman working at the Dollarama store entrance and told them to leave their kirpans out.
Mr. Gill said they tried to explain to the woman that it was a religious symbol, but she told the security to bar them from entering the store.
Harpal Singh Gill told it was first time during his 16 years in Canada that he faced this. He added he was surprised as he had been to the store many times before and nobody ever raised an objection.
“Any time I go to the store, nobody stops me,” he said.
Both of them later filed a complaint with the human rights commission of Manitoba saying their religious sentiments were hurt.
Source: Facebook
Baptised Sikhs carry the kirpans as one of the five articles of faith.
A spokeswoman for the company running the store said the Kirpans were allowed in the stores.
"We are currently following up with store management to better understand what happened and to ensure that our customer service policy, and how it applies to the wearing of kirpans, is well-understood by employees and third party providers."
The Winnipeg Police Service said it doesn’t consider the kirpan as a weapon but a religious symbol, and that if someone misused it, criminal charges couple be laid.
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