METRO VANCOUVER -- Leaders of a Surrey Hindu temple vandalized Sunday in what they believe was a "hate crime" won't let the defacement stop a candlelight vigil they're staging tonight to mark the 28th anniversary of the Air India bombing.

Sometime in the wee hours of Sunday morning two men who appear to be South Asian were caught on a surveillance camera, carrying bats. They are later seen running away, with nothing in hand.

Some hours later, worshippers arriving at the Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Mandir temple, at 8321 140th St., were shocked to find the windows at the front entrance smashed and a broken bat bearing the name "Brar," a Sikh Khanda symbol and inscription "Veradero Cuba" laying in the busted glass below.

Temple president Parshotam Goel said he will not point fingers until the RCMP investigation provides "concrete" evidence as to who the vandals are.

"Definitely it's a hate crime," he said. "It's not an act of vandalism."

Vinay Sharma, the general secretary of the temple, also believes hate was the motive because nothing was stolen.

"For sure it's a hate crime," he said. But Cpl. Bert Paquet said the Surrey RCMP is not "at this point" willing to make that leap and continues to investigate the vandalism as simply an act of mischief.

"At this point in time, we don't have any evidence to support that," Paquet replied, when asked if police believe they're looking at a hate crime.

Sharma said the Tuesday night vigil will now not only commemorate the Air India tragedy but also "condemn" this recent incident.

"We will request the presence and support of the whole community, at this vigil, so that a strong message is conveyed to all those who are involved and for avoidance of such similar incidents in future."

Asked if he suspects the vandalism is at all linked to tonight's planned vigil, Sharma replied, "We are not sure if it is connected."

Meantime, Prem Singh Vinning, president of the World Sikh Organization of Canada, condemned Sunday's vandalism.

"We strongly condemn this act," he said. "Any attack on any religious place of gathering, it's not acceptable to society."

As for the vandals, Vinning said, "The full force of the law should come to effect on these individuals. We should stand in solidarity with our Hindu community."

The vigil begins at 6: 30 p.m.

Air India Flight 182 exploded off the west coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985, killing all 329 aboard. Sixty children aged 10 and under were among them.

The Boeing 747 was heading from Montreal to London when it all but disintegrated some 31,000 feet above the Atlantic. Authorities believe Sikh terrorists loaded a bomb onto the airplane in Vancouver, seeking revenge for the Indian Army's 1984 attack on the Sikhs' Golden Temple in Amritsar, India.

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