LONDON: A disused gurdwara in southeast England has been vandalised by a group of teenagers, a video circulating on the social media today showed, prompting police to probe the incident.
A large number of teenagers, mostly boys, can be heard laughing and cheering as they smash displays, throw crockery and caused damage in the empty place of worship in a video posted on SnapChat.
"We have been informed of the video that is circulating social media and have been working with Kent Police to ensure this matter is dealt with seriously. We will be working to re-secure the building as soon as possible," said a spokesperson for the former gurdwara in Gravesend, Kent.
The video was shared via SnapChat and captioned: "Temple got mash up" and was later posted in a local Facebook group in Gravesend.
Tarsem Singh Mahil, general secretary of the new Gravesend gurdwara, told 'KentOnline': "This is very bad news, and it's quite upsetting. There is a risk this will cause animosity within different communities, we don't want that."
"It's in the police's hands now, we need to let them deal with this."
The building has been empty for a few years as it awaits planning permission to be sold to a developer to convert into flats.
A new grand gurdwara, named Guru Nanak Darbar, had opened in Gravesend in 2010.
A Kent Police spokesperson said: "Kent Police was called at 12.07am on Thursday, 23 June to a report of criminal damage at a derelict property in Clarence Place, Gravesend."
"Officers have attended and an investigation is currently ongoing."
