55 held for trespassing into UK gurdwara

London, September 11

Fifty-five persons were arrested today for trespass in the West Midlands region of England after a gang of sword-wielding men stormed a gurdwara, apparently opposing a mixed race marriage between a Sikh and a non-Sikh couple.

A spokesperson for the Warwickshire Police said: “The report was received at 6.47 am after a group entered the temple. This is currently being treated as aggravated trespass and at this time we believe that it is an escalation of an ongoing local dispute.”

“We believe that some of the men are in possession of bladed items. Armed officers have been deployed. Officers are inside the temple to negotiate a peaceful resolution,” the spokesperson said.

“We would like to reassure people that this is not being treated as a terror incident,” he added.

“There are police cordons in place around the gurdwara and we would ask that people avoid the immediate area while the incident is resolved,” he said.

Some reports said the armed gang was demonstrating against a mixed race marriage, although this remained unconfirmed.

Jatinder Singh Birdi, a former treasurer at the place of worship, said, “There has been tension for the past couple of years, with some people objecting to mixed marriages taking place in the gurdwara,” he was quoted as saying by BBC. — PTI