TORONTO: After being set on fire at his Surrey, British Columbia, store on Friday, a man of Pakistani heritage is battling for his life in an intensive care unit.
In the Surrey Central neighborhood, Rahat Rao, who is reportedly a prominent member of the local Pakistani-Canadian community, ran a currency exchange company.
According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Rao was attacked by a man who doused him in fire accelerant before fleeing after setting him on fire.
An eyewitness who was inside the currency exchange when a man enveloped in flames came screaming from the back of the establishment was cited by the Canadian outlet Global News. She claimed the man was set on fire during an attempted robbery by a relative of the shop owner.
There was no obvious justification given for the attack. The photo of the supposed assailant and his getaway car has also been made public by the local police.
According to media sources, there may be a link to the murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed in the same town last year outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara.
Rao was also questioned by local police following the killing, however they did not go into detail about what was asked of him.
According to some stories, Rao was instructed to install extra cameras by the RCMP since they had some intelligence and were worried about his safety.
