The prime ministers of India and Canada condemned violence that broke out on Sunday at a Hindu temple near Toronto at a time of escalating diplomatic tensions between the two countries.Videos posted on social media appeared to show people hitting each other with flagpoles and throwing punches in the Toronto suburb of Brampton.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has criticised the "cowardly attempts to intimidate our diplomats" in his first comments over the deepening diplomatic row with Canada. Both countries expelled each other's top envoys last month after Canadian officials accused India of being involved in violent acts targeting Indian dissidents on Canadian soil,

The weekend conflicts come just weeks after RCMP announced they had evidence of Indian officials’ involvement in homicides, extortion and violent crime on Canadian soil