Man alleges racially charged assault involving bagpipes in downtown Halifax

Shalu Shajan, an immigrant from India, reported that a man with bagpipes deliberately struck his car’s side mirror and later the trunk while he was parked on Lower Water Street in Halifax. When Shajan confronted the individual, the man responded with increasingly hostile language, including racist commands to “go back to your country.” Witness Raven one outlet confirmed the verbal assault and the aggressor’s purposeful contact with the vehicle.

Shajan captured an image of the suspect, posted about the incident on Facebook, and lodged a report with Halifax Regional Police, which forwarded the case to its hate-crime unit for assessment. Police have asked Shajan whether he wishes to pursue charges, and he indicated he wants the perpetrator held accountable. National statistics from Statistics Canada reveal a steady increase in hate crimes targeting South Asian Canadians, rising from 167 incidents in 2021 to 483 in 2025. The Indo-Canadian Association of Nova Scotia expressed concern over the broader impact such incidents have on immigrant communities.