'Armed' men storm occupy in Leamington Spa, say police

[gsingh9]

A group of men believed to be carrying "bladed weapons" are occupying a temple in Leamington Spa, according to police.

Warwickshire Police said about 20 or 30 men entered the Gurdwara Sahib, at about 06:45 BST on Sunday.

Officers are inside the temple on Tachbrook Drive negotiating with the group.

A force spokesman said it was being treated as "an aggravated trespass" from "the escalation of a local dispute" and was not a terror incident.

A police cordon is currently in force around the temple while officers and religious leaders try to end the stand-off. 

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-37332307

Update: Sikhs protest against interfaith Anand Karaj https://www.facebook.com/SikhYouthBirmingham/?fref=ts

[Cisco_Singh]

Well it was only a matter of time, corrupt committees like leamington and Warwick  Gurdwara  , are just atheists pretending to be Sikhs, there greed for income is ridiculous. No regard for Sikhi principles

The commitee lied to the police, the videos all showcase peaceful protest with protestors inside meditating peacefully. no blades, swearing or aggressive behaviour from the protestors.

 

[dholki]

Fifty-five arrested after armed siege at Sikh temple in protest over interfaith marriage

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Police cordoned off a wide area outside the temple CREDIT: PA

•  Henry Bodkin 

11 SEPTEMBER 2016 • 6:03PM

Armed police surrounded a Sikh temple after scores of men, some carrying swords, stormed the building reportedly in an attempt to disrupt an interfaith wedding.

Fifty-five people were arrested for aggravated trespass following an eight-hour siege at the Gurdwara Sahib in Leamington Spa, which has a history of tensions over mixed marriages.

A group calling itself Sikh Youth Birmingham claimed responsibility for the raid, which it said was a peaceful protest undertaken to “uphold the sanctity” of the traditional marriage ceremony.

Nothing has happened on this level before.Jatinder Singh Birdi, former temple treasurer

A Sikh bride was understood to have been scheduled to marry a Hindu groom at the venue later in the day.

The group inside the temple posted a video online of men clad in black with orange bandanas, chanting traditional Sikh verses, as well as a video showing an encounter with two armed policemen who went in to try to talk to the men.

One of the men in the first video was waving a placard that read "Stop violating Sikh principles for money".

Armed police at the temple

Richard Barns, a witness, said he had earlier seen 10 members of the group standing at the door to the building with their arms folded. 

“It was quite intimidating,” he said. “It looked like they were securing the door.”

Officers said a “significant number of bladed weapons”, many of them ceremonial kirpans, were later recovered from the scene after the siege which ended without injury.

The protesters arrived at the temple in the early morning CREDIT: SWNS

Police, who cordoned off a wide area outside the temple, were seen taking pictures of the arrested men on mobile phones before loading them onto a coach.

Officers described the incident, which lasted from about 6.45am to 2pm on Sunday, as a culmination of “ongoing issues”.

In July, protesters attempted to disrupt another mixed marriage at the temple.

Jatinder Singh Birdi, a former treasurer at the temple, said: “There have been tensions that have been going on for a couple of years with some people objecting to mixed marriages in taking place in the gurdwara.

“The general consensus is people are respectful of mixed marriages if the traditions are respected. Nothing has happened on this level before.”

Police officers attended the scene CREDIT:  KAMERON SIDHU/CATERS NEWS

The Sikh Council has argued that the marriage ceremony, known as Anand Karak, should be reserved only for Sikhs, but it has also called for a halt to protest at mixed weddings.

Superintendent David Gardner, of Warwickshire Police, said: “Over the coming days we will be working with the local Sikh community to address some of the ongoing issues that have culminated in today’s events.”

The Gurdwara Sahib committee has faced criticism in the Sikh community in recent days over proposals to construct a new building, described by some opponents as a "party venue", next to the temple.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/11/fifty-five-arrested-after-armed-siege-at-sikh-temple-in-protest/

 

[jkvlondon]

what do you expect Modi's been rubbing his hands together since brexit now he can put pressure on May's cabinet to defame us much like in the eighties and nineties . This Birdi guy needs to be talked to sounds like a total stooge . It's so sad the number of cocnuts coming out with those same tired lines sikhs believe are religions are equal ...so what's the problem ...honestly, coconuts the whole bunch.

[Jonny101]

The greedy committee of this Gurdwara should be named and shamed with their photos all over the Internet.

[N30S1NGH]

Where are these hypocrites when punjabi monai who has no beleif or follow sikh rehit maryada walk in anand karaj and blatantly do beadhi and been doing beadhi for last 40 years in punjab and everywhere? These people always look for soft targets who is weak misguided - nothing new here- self righteous fanatic egos cactus jack egos always prey on weak, may be its time for these hypocrites to grow a pair (may be borrow one from kurdish female fighters) and draw a real line and start house cleaning - start with their chacha, taya, mama, massi, bhauo, fufar their punjabi monaie kids-, distant punjabi monai relatives - punjabi monai within the community and lets see these people crash their wedding.

 

 

 

[genie]

36 minutes ago, N30S1NGH said:

Where are these hypocrites when punjabi monai who has no beleif or follow sikh rehit maryada walk in anand karaj and blatantly do beadhi and been doing beadhi for last 40 years in punjab and everywhere? These people always look for soft targets who is weak misguided - nothing new here- self righteous fanatic egos cactus jack egos always prey on weak, may be its time for these hypocrites to grow a pair (may be borrow one from kurdish female fighters) and draw a real line and start house cleaning - start with their chacha, taya, mama, massi, bhauo, fufar their punjabi monaie kids-, distant punjabi monai relatives - punjabi monai within the community and lets see these people crash their wedding.

 

 

 

Wait lemme get this straight so you instead of attacking the anti-sikh gurdwara commitee you want to attack the Sikh protestors who gave up their time and liberty and love their guru so much that they dont want his beadhi done in a gurdwara?

And you want to attack punjabi Sikh monay many who love Sikhi more than amritdharis and have fought for Sikhism in many battlefields in history and present times in gangs against racist skinheads and muslim gangs..... these monay you talk so badly about who have no religious requirement or complusion to be amritdhari's you want to be attacked yet these people are 80% majority of Sikhi and produce Sikh offspring unlike the interfaith marriage Sikhs who produce zero Sikh kids? 

Is that what you really saying? I hope your not!

[N30S1NGH]

I have nothing against monay. I was trying to bring their own logic (as they flaunt 52 hakums of maharaj  super impose them against one case but stay silent or conveniently forget to apply on another)  to scrutiny. They are hypocrites. Its actually quite clear cut.

 

[N30S1NGH]

11 minutes ago, genie said:

yet these people are 80% majority of Sikhi and produce Sikh offspring unlike the interfaith marriage Sikhs who produce zero Sikh kids? 

And how do you know that? Where is your stats? Its quite relative based on individual cases. I have known atleast two couples woman is sikh and guy is non sikh. She is raising the kids as sikhs. I think We have our own example on this forum who married brazilian - non sikh - interfaith also raising kids as sikhs.

[EST1699]

Sikh council = Toothless tigers

they failed miserably to tackle this issue and they had more than one year to work on it.