You may recall the story of 22-year-old college student Tejeshwar Kalia. He was working at the Circle K convenience store on King Street in Peterborough, Ont., earlier this month when along came a thug, armed with a baseball bat, to carry out a robbery.

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

Self defence and castle doctrine, right? Wrong.

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

Kalia’s case was to be heard in Peterborough Court last Tuesday, but the matter was put over until Feb. 13. Evidently, the Crown needs extra time for disclosure.

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

Kalia is a hero, not a criminal. And apparently, millions of Canadians feel the same way.https://t.co/gouYRwuVMB

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) January 18, 2024

But in the meantime, we learned something that had not yet been reported regarding this incident. Which is to say, since the attempted robbery occurred, Kalia has been under house arrest!

That’s right. The victim is being further victimized. We ponder if the would-be robber is under house arrest? Or, like so many other violent criminals and reprobates in Justin Trudeau’s Canada, is the thug free on bail to potentially carry out more crimes?

Not that Peterborough Police Chief Stu Betts gives a rodent’s rectum.

Rather, Chief Betts doubled down on idiocy when he recently stated the following on X:

“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! Because it seems to us that 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.

As for Kalia, Rebel News will be back in Peterborough come Feb. 13. Let us collectively hope that this young man, at the very least, receives a fair trial. Better yet, let us all hope the Crown does the right thing by dropping all charges.

Note: Since this was recorded, his bail conditions have been altered. He now has a curfew from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m.