Close X
Thursday, December 19, 2024
ADVT 
International

Mixed-Faith Wedding Sparked Angry Protest At Sikh Temple, Court hears

IANS, 02 Feb, 2018 04:12 PM
    An official at a Sikh temple was assaulted by having his tie grabbed during a mass protest against a mixed-faith wedding ceremony, a court has heard.
     
     
    A trial at Birmingham Crown Court was told demonstrators shouted vile insults in Punjabi after forcing open the doors of the gurdwara in Leamington in September 2016.
     
     
    Gursharan Singh, 34, and Kulvinder Bir Singh, 38, both deny religiously aggravated offences.
     
     
    Trial rosecutor Sophie Murray said: “The Crown case is that these two men attended the gurdwara temple as part of a group with the sole intention of disrupting an inter-faith marriage with which they disagreed.”
     
     
    Prosecutors allege Gursharan Singh, of no fixed address, assaulted temple committee member Bhopinder Singh Aujla. A charge he denies.
     
    Giving evidence from behind a screen, Aujla described how another official received a call from a security guard warning him men were "rushing" the gates ahead of a wedding service on 11 September 2016.
     
     
     
     
    He told the court: "Once I'd locked the door, I went towards the dining room just to alert my colleagues that there were people outside banging the doors.
     
     
    "I just started moving out of the way, feeling frightened, and the next thing you know one of them tried to grab me between the legs.
     
     
    "Another one of his colleagues grabbed me quite tightly by my tie and I pushed his hand away."
     
     
    Kulvinder Bir Singh, 38, of Tilehurst Drive, Coventry, denies damaging signs relating to the ceremony at the temple.
     
     
    Leamington gurdwara is one of a small number of Sikh temples in Britain which stages inter-faith weddings and had experienced problems with protesters in the past.
     
     
    The trial continues.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    In A First, Sikh-American Gurbir S Grewal Nominated To Be New Jersey's Attorney General

    In A First, Sikh-American Gurbir S Grewal Nominated To Be New Jersey's Attorney General
    In a historic first, a distinguished Sikh public prosecutor "who has experienced hate and intolerance first-hand" has been nominated to be the next attorney general of the US state of New Jersey.

    In A First, Sikh-American Gurbir S Grewal Nominated To Be New Jersey's Attorney General

    Indians Get More British Work Visas Than Others

    Indians Get More British Work Visas Than Others
    Stating that there has been a sharp increase in the number of British visas issued to Indians, the British High Commission said on Tuesday that Indians get more work visas than all other nationalities combined.

    Indians Get More British Work Visas Than Others

    Bangladesh Police Detain Wife, In-Laws Of New York 'Attempted Suicide Bomber'

    Bangladesh Police Detain Wife, In-Laws Of New York 'Attempted Suicide Bomber'
    Bangladesh Police detained the wife and in-laws of New York's 'attempted suicide bomber' Akayed Ullah for questioning in Dhaka, the media reported.

    Bangladesh Police Detain Wife, In-Laws Of New York 'Attempted Suicide Bomber'

    India's Lakshmi Puri Among 6 Diplomats To Receive 'Power Of One' Award At UN

    India's Lakshmi Puri Among 6 Diplomats To Receive 'Power Of One' Award At UN
    The inaugural 'Power of One' award is bestowed upon exceptional people who have toiled selflessly to help form a more perfect peaceful and secure world for all of us.

    India's Lakshmi Puri Among 6 Diplomats To Receive 'Power Of One' Award At UN

    Teen Footballer Nitisha Negi's Father Seeks Sushma Swaraj's Help To Bring Back Body From Australia

    Teen Footballer Nitisha Negi's Father Seeks Sushma Swaraj's Help To Bring Back Body From Australia
    Nitisha Negi was one of the five Indian footballers who were swept away by a huge wave on Sunday when they ventured into the sea waters after the completion of the games.

    Teen Footballer Nitisha Negi's Father Seeks Sushma Swaraj's Help To Bring Back Body From Australia

    ISIS-Inspired Bangladeshi Bomber Arrested After Blast In New York Subway

    ISIS-Inspired Bangladeshi Bomber Arrested After Blast In New York Subway
    Akayed Ullah, the 27-year-old suspected bomber, had wires and a pipe bomb strapped to his body. The device prematurely exploded between two subway platforms near Port Authority, which is America's largest bus terminal, police said

    ISIS-Inspired Bangladeshi Bomber Arrested After Blast In New York Subway