COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Fourteen people have been arrested after an eight-hour armed protest at a temple in what is believed to be a row over mixed marriages.



Police said 20 to 30 men - some with bladed weapons - entered the Gurdwara Sahib in Leamington Spa at 06:45 BST.

A former treasurer at the Warwickshire temple said a marriage between a Sikh and non-Sikh was due to take place.

Jatinder Singh Birdi said mixed marriages had been a contentious issue in the local Sikh community.

Officers remain inside the temple on Tachbrook Drive and a police cordon is in place outside.

A force spokesman said the protest was being treated as "an aggravated trespass" from "the escalation of a local dispute".

Mr Birdi 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.

"This is meant to be one of the happiest moments of somebody's life - it shows a lack of respect."

Mixed marriages taking place at Sikh temples in the UK have been disrupted by protestors.

The Sikh Council has argued the marriage ceremony, known as Anand Karaj, should be reserved only for Sikhs. Last year it also called for a halt to protests.

Coventry men among 55 arrested after Sikh temple wedding protest



All but one of the 55 men arrested after a protest at a Sikh temple have been released on police bail.

Of those detained following a day-long occupation of the Gurdwara Sahib in Leamington, 11 were from Coventry.

Other protesters came from as a far afield as Bradford and Huddersfield, although none were from Leamington or Warwick.

The protest began at the Tachbrook Park Drive gurdwara, one of the largest temples outside of India, shortly before 7am on Sunday, when a large group of masked men burst in.

Although Sikhs are allowed to carry small ceremonial swords, or kirpans, as a symbol of their faith, it was reported that some of the men had other knives, leading to armed police being called.

The protest is believed to be about mixed faith marriages and Warwickshire Police say it was “an escalation of a local dispute”.

Police confirmed yesterday that a total of 55 men were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass.

A “significant number” of kirpans were seized along with one other blade which was not ceremoniaal.

Of the 55 arrested men, the largest number (11) came from Coventry with two from Rugby and one from Atherstone.

The others came from: Birmingham 9, West Bromwich 3, Walsall 4, Wolverhampton 4, Oldbury 4, Bilston 1, Tipton 1, Wednesbury 2, Willenhall 2, Leicester 3, Derby 2, Ilford 1, Huddersfield 2, Canvey Island 1 and Bradford 1.

Fifty-four have since been bailed until October while investigations continue, while the other, a 30-year-old from Derby, remains in police custody.

One of the arrested men - aged 39 and from Birmingham - was also arrested on suspicion of causing racially aggravated fear or provocation of violence by words.

This relates to an incident that occurred at Leamington Police Station at 8.30pm on Sunday.

Supt David Gardner, from Warwickshire Police, said: “We would like to reassure people that this was a contained incident that we believe was an escalation of a local dispute.

“A significant number of bladed weapons were seized from the scene.

“As a result of reports that the men were in possession of these weapons we deployed armed officers as a precaution. Nobody was injured in the incident.

“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.

“We would like to thank local people for their patience while we dealt with this incident.”

Tachbrook Park Drive was closed for most of the day in both directions between the Queensway junction and the Heathcote Lane junction.

Police urged to apologise for "disproportionate response" to Sikh temple protest

Sikh leaders have accused Warwickshire Police of over-reacting to a protest to an interfaith wedding in Leamington.

The Sikh Federation UK says that it was a peaceful demonstration and Warwickshire Police had used a “disproportionate” response.

The federation said that those arrested had walked into the gurdwara to protest against an interfaith marriage being carried out as a Sikh religious ceremony.

The organisation’s national press secretary, Gurjeet Singh, said in a statement: “We stand with those who peacefully protested against the actions of the management committee at the gurdwara.

“It now materialises the police were told masked men forced their way into the gurdwara carrying a range of bladed items other than Kirpans (small ceremonial swords), that are worn at all times by initiated Sikhs, and it may have been suggested they were holding hostages.

“The police have now admitted those protesting simply walked into the gurdwara in the early hours and they have only found small Kirpans that were being legitimately worn.

“This was a small group of young protesters who justifiably objected to an interfaith marriage that was to be carried out as a Sikh religious ceremony.”

Warwickshire Police say the investigation is still ongoing to establish exactly what happened on Sunday morning.

Of those arrested, 54 have since been released on bail with one remaining in police custody.

Calls for probe into police handling of Sikh temple protest

The Sikh Federation has called for an independent investigation into the “totally unnecessary” prosecution of two Coventry brothers who were arrested during a protest at a Warwickshire temple.

Armed police were deployed and 55 protesters were detained at a Sikh temple in Leamington on September 11 2016.

A trial at Birmingham Crown Court ended on Tuesday in the acquittal of Gursharan and Kulvinder Singh, both from Coventry, who were accused of pulling an official’s tie and taking down laminated signs inside the gurdwara.

But police have defended their actions and a senior officer says they “would respond in the same way” in similar circumstances.

Commenting on the case, Bhai Amrik Singh, chair of the UK’s Sikh Federation, said: “We welcome the unanimous decision of jurors to acquit the two brothers and feel vindicated as we have said all along these prosecutions were totally unnecessary.

“This was a lawful, peaceful protest where Warwickshire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service appear to have been given incorrect and false information by members of the Leamington Gurdwara management committee.

“There should be an independent investigation as this incident at that time brought the law-abiding Sikh community into serious disrepute with a massive over-reaction with armed police being deployed on the anniversary of 9/11.”

...a lawful, peaceful protest...