Sikhs call for probe after North Carolina Gurdwara vandalised
Darpan News Desk IANS, 30 Jan, 2023 12:49 PM
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.
The news is the first clear indication from the Biden administration that it is preparing to ease travel restrictions first imposed in March 2020, at the outset of the pandemic. Details, however, remain in short supply.
The outbreak of the Delta variant of Covid-19 in the southern province of Fujian has become a case of huge concern for the Chinese authorities. The number of cases is increasing at a rapid speed while the authorities are struggling to contain new infections.
One study tracked over 600,000 COVID-19 cases in 13 states from April through mid-July. As delta surged in early summer, those who were unvaccinated were 4.5 times more likely than the fully vaccinated to get infected, over 10 times more likely to be hospitalized and 11 times more likely to die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
He had been injured in a shootout between a passenger in his car and the teenager who was also injured in the exchange of fire and remained hospitalised, the station said.
The searing parallels that bookend the two decades — shaken commanders-in-chief promising retribution for a devastating suicide attack; triumphant Taliban militants in Afghanistan and a military transport fleeing Kabul — might suggest little has changed. Of course, since Sept. 11, virtually everything has.
Mu, also known as B.1.621, was first identified from Colombia in January this year. Infections from Mu have since been recorded in South America and Europe. Based on the latest round of assessments, B.1.621 was classified as a VOI on 30 August 2021 and given the WHO label "Mu".
