New York, Jan 30 (IANS) A recent string of attacks by vandals on a Sikh temple in the US has left the community worried with leaders asking for a thorough investigation into the incidents.
In various incidents over the last two months, the windows, lights and security cameras of Gurdwara Sahib Khalsa Darbar on East Arrowood Road in Charlotte, North Carolina, were shattered and damaged, local media reported.
"It's shocking for us to experience things like this. We're a small community in Charlotte..." Ajay Singh, a Sikh community member told the Charlotte Observer.
According to the 2021 American Community Survey, there are roughly 6,900 Sikhs out of 10.5 million people across North Carolina.
Singh said acts of vandalism at the Gurdwara started last fall with trash being thrown around the area.
"On January 3, a window near the worship room was destroyed. Two days later, a window was broken near a room for children," he said.
According to the Observer, Gurdwara members had filed a police report but Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police denied there were any between December 1 and January 13. Police did not respond to a Charlotte Observer inquiry on whether there was an active investigation there.
"We really need law enforcement to step up," Pawanjit Singh, a member of the Gurdwara, told Charlotte Observer. "They need to find who is doing this and why they are doing this."
Pawanjit Singh further said that no one was present at the gurdwara when the acts occurred, and the motive of attack remains unknown.
"Ninety per cent of police officers probably do not know who Sikhs are," he said. "When they don't know they can't relate to what an act of vandalism at a Sikh temple means."
The community leaders have set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the cost of the damages and install a safety fence and a gate. Apart from being a place of worship, the gurdwara runs a school attended by more than 40 children, and provides community meals, Punjabi language, leadership, and music classes.
ADVT
International
Sikhs call for probe after North Carolina Gurdwara vandalised
MORE International ARTICLES
Indian-American CNN Political Analyst Peter Mathews To Run For Congress
Indian-American Peter Mathews, also a political analyst on CNN television, will be running for Congress.
Indian-American CNN Political Analyst Peter Mathews To Run For Congress
Indian Sikh Woman Who Tried To Flee With Pakistani Facebook Friend Sent Back From Kartarpur
Manjit Kaur, in her early 20s, visited the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib via the Kartarpur corridor, some 125kms from Lahore, in last week of November, sources said.
Indian Sikh Woman Who Tried To Flee With Pakistani Facebook Friend Sent Back From Kartarpur
Twitter Users Have Fun Over Toddlers' Race In US
A video clipping about a toddlers' race on a basketball court in the US evoked some funny responses from the Twitter users.
Twitter Users Have Fun Over Toddlers' Race In US
Chennai Space Enthusiast Finds Vikram Debris On Moon: NASA
A space enthusiast from Chennai who worked independently, found a debris from the Vikram moonlander that scientists had been looking for and helped guide them to the spot where it had crashed.
Chennai Space Enthusiast Finds Vikram Debris On Moon: NASA
2 Indian Students Dead In Us Hit-And-Run
Two Indian students were killed in a hit-and-run incident in the US state of Tennessee, with the accused surrendering himself to the police, media reports said.
2 Indian Students Dead In Us Hit-And-Run
Mob Attacks Offices Of Pakistan Newspaper 'Dawn' After It Says London Attacker Is 'Pakistan Origin Man'
The Dawn newspaper in its headline had identified Usman Khan, a convicted Islamist terrorist from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir who stabbed two people to death in a terror attack on London Bridge last week, as "UK national of Pakistani origin".