Men allegedly attacked religious volunteer at the gates of a Sikh temple

A religious volunteer was injured after he was allegedly attacked by unidentified men at the gates of their Sikh temple in Christchurch.

The incident happened at Gurudwara Singh Sabha on Ferry Rd, Woolston around 6 a.m. on Wednesday.

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A Facebook group post indicated that a Pathi or Sewadar (a volunteer who helps a gurudwara or its community for religious reasons) was “confronted” by “unidentified men” at the door and the volunteer was hurt.

The New Zealand Sikh Society (NZSS) reported the matter to police giving them a detailed statement and camera recordings of the incident which took place over a period of one minute, according to the message.

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“The police assured us they would investigate. NZSS is committed to assist in the police investigation and to offer [the] appropriate support is required … “

The message urged all participants of Gurudwara Singh Sabha to be “a little more vigilant, especially when it is dark”, but that there was “nothing to be alarmed about. [over]”.

He said the company would explore more lighting options at the temple and work with Christchurch City Council to get more lighting near the gate.

A police spokeswoman said police received a report of the assault on Wednesday and are continuing their investigation.

“Potential CCTV footage is being explored as part of these investigations.

“At this point, there is no indication that it was racially motivated,” she said.

A spokeswoman for St John said paramedics had not been called for the alleged attack.

Christchurch has two Sikh temples, one in Woolston and the other in Riccarton.

Sikhism is the fastest growing religion in the country according to the latest census, with around 41,000 people currently in New Zealand.

The Sikh community in Christchurch is believed to have grown from around 1,000 people before the earthquakes to over 10,000 living in Christchurch last year.