Three cars were set ablaze outside the Handsworth Wood home of Jarnail Singh Bhogal, President of the Ramgharia Sikh Gurdwara in Graham Street, Hockley.
LONDON: The head of a Gurdwara and his family had to flee their home in Birmingham after it was targeted by unidentified arsonists, in what is believed to be a reprisal attack for allowing a mixed marriage.
Three cars were set ablaze outside the Handsworth Wood home of Jarnail Singh Bhogal, President of the Ramgharia Sikh Gurdwara in Graham Street, Hockley.
The attack in the early hours of Monday comes in the wake of protests against the marriage, the details of which were posted on an online Sikh forum naming the temple leaders.
The website referred to a marriage between a Sikh woman and a man of another religion and called on Sikhs to protest outside the Gurdwara against "this disgraceful act".
It also demanded the resignation of Bhogal and warned Gurdwara leaders that there will be consequences if they allow mixed marriages.
According to Gurdwara sources, the man involved in the marriage converted to Sikhism before the ceremony.
Cars parked in the driveway of Bhogal's house were fire-bombed on Monday morning.
Bhogal said, "I woke up and there was a big bang and an orange light or flash. I opened the curtains and saw my three cars on fire so I asked the kids and my wife to get out and go in the garden and called the fire brigade."
Inspector Lee Bartram of Thornhill Road police station on Wednesday said, "The girl was a Sikh and the boy voluntarily changed his name to a Sikh name and promised to adopt the values of Sikhism".
"Committee members were incorrectly targeted based on vicious rumours which led to the horrific incidence where three cars were burnt," Bartram said.
The attack is the latest in a series of controversies which have hit the city's Sikh community.
Last month, over 100 Sikhs protested outside the Indian Consulate in Birmingham over the Dera Sacha Sauda issue.
In a separate incident, a 44-year-old was stabbed during Vaisakhi celebrations in Birmingham in April. Four men have been charged with attempted murder over the incident.
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