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Sikh gurdwara fire leads to
fears of more attacks
WSN Network
 LONDON:
Sikh leaders have called on police to do more to protect religious
buildings in light of an arson attack.
Last March the
Sikh Sangat Gurdwara in Bow, east
London,
was gutted when an intruder started a fire.
Gurdwara
president Jagdish Singh has warned everything possible must be done
to prevent a similar incident happening to any religious
institution.
He said: "This
time a Gurdwara has been a target - but in the future it could be
another religious temple."
Mr Singh
continued: ''The police need to ensure that it increases its efforts
to stop any sacred building from becoming a vicious target."
The leaders of
the Sikh Sangat Gurdwara say holy premises are often the subject of
attacks and they want the police to provide more monitoring and
surveillance to prevent future attacks.
It was like
losing a home and having nowhere to go.
The fire was
started in a room of the gurdwara where the Sikh holy book, Sri Guru
Granth Sahib, was kept.
It led to the
closure of the Gurdwara for more than 10 months and Mr Singh said it
had a devastating effect on the Sikh community. Jodhar Singh, a
regular worshipper at the gurdwara, said: "It was like losing a home
and having nowhere to go. It was a black day for us when our
gurdwara was burnt.''
A section of the
Gurdwara was reopened at the beginning of this year and the temple's
committee hopes to restore the entire building within the next
couple of months.
However, there
is a big fear within the Sikh community that a similar attack may
happen.
Gagandeep Gill,
who attends the gurdwara for Sunday prayers, said: ''Our Gurdwara is
a holy place and for someone to attempt to burn it down is very
upsetting. 'I'm very happy it has reopened but I'm scared that
something like this will happen again.''
The Sikh Sangat
Gurdwara has offered a £50,000 reward to help catch the arsonist. No
arrests have been made so far. 'We assure the Sikh community that
every possible line of enquiry is being pursued.'
13
January 2010
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