Desperately seeking Tejeshwar Kalia, a Peterborough, Ont., store clerk who was charged by Peterborough Police for… using self-defence against an armed robber!?

Earlier this month, 22-year-old college student Tejeshwar Kalia was working at the Circle K convenience store on King Street in Peterborough, Ont. A thug, armed with a baseball bat, entered the store to rob it.

A scuffle ensued and Mr. Kalia was allegedly struck with the baseball bat. But Kalia eventually disarmed the would-be bandit and then used the thief’s own weapon against him.

Self defence, right? Wrong.

The Peterborough Police have charged Kalia with assault. Yes, he ended up in jail… for defending himself?!

He’ll be back in court on January 30. Gee, was Kalia supposed to have just stood there and get his head smashed in?

Kalia is a hero, not a criminal. And apparently, millions of Canadians feel the same way. The Peterborough Police Service has been deluged with comments by angry law-abiding citizens about criminally charging the wrong guy.

But get this, instead of charges being dropped, Peterborough Police Chief Stu Betts has doubled down on idiocy. Here’s what he stated on X the last week:

“Public Statement: I would not normally release a message of this kind, but the commentary that has taken place following our media release today, in relation to a store clerk also being charged following an attempted robbery is unfair to the men and women of my Organization - they are doing great work in our community. Yes, this case is unusual, but in a world where security cameras are everywhere, do you really think we would not have seized & reviewed the footage as part of the investigation and prior to laying charges? If you follow anything in the media, you will know that I cannot speak to the particulars of this case because it is before the Court, but if you have a desire to know what has led to the charges, follow the case in Court. Allow the facts of the case to guide your commentary and opinion, not your reaction to a headline. I have been Chief of the Peterborough Police Service for exactly 365 days (1 year today) and those who follow me, and/or live in our community, know that I am vocal about public safety, accountability & transparency all in an effort to maintain public trust & confidence. I have every confidence in my staff. You may not like the police. You may not like my Police Organization in particular. I can’t change or comment on what you believe may or may not have been done in the past – I wasn’t a part of the past, I am the present. This is not about politics – politics have nothing to do with the facts. This is not about race - as some have suggested. This is not about the perception that criminals go free while victims of crime are penalized - this is about the law. I encourage you to stop and think about things before determining what you think has happened, or that an injustice has taken place, because I’m quite confident that not one person who has made a comment about this case has seen the video or has access to the actual facts.”

Way to go, Chief Betts, because all you did with that asinine statement is prejudice the case against Kalia.

Bottom line: Peterborough Police: you need to better. And it starts with going after the criminals and NOT revictimizing the victims.

This is an outrage. But Rebel News is not just reporting on this story. Rather, we want to help Kalia. We want to crowdfund his legal fees. Just one hitch: nobody involved in this matter will provide us with his contact information.

If you know where we can reach Tejeshwar Kalia, please reach out to [email protected]. There was an injustice committed earlier this month – by the police, that is. We want to put our money where our mouth is by supporting Mr. Kalia in his quest for justice.