The gurdwara attack in southeast England last week in which a 17-year-old boy was arrested and charged with multiple offences, including threats to kill, is being treated as “religiously aggravated”, the local police have said.
The Kent Police said the boy appeared before Maidstone Crown Court where he was further charged with attempted grievous bodily harm along with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, using or threatening unlawful violence, threats to kill, threatening a person with a bladed weapon and possessing a bladed article in a public place.
He was bailed by the court over the incident at Sri Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara in Gravesend last Thursday and was “immediately detained by officers for a mental health assessment”.
“This is an isolated incident and our initial enquiries suggest it is not terrorism-related,” said Chief Superintendent Angie Chapman, North Kent Divisional Commander for Kent Police.
“We are treating it as religiously aggravated. It was upsetting for local people and our officers will remain on patrol in the area for reassurance and engagement with the community. I would like to thank the local community for their ongoing support and assistance while this investigation continues,” she said. He will next appear before Medway Youth Court on Thursday after a mental health assessment.
Earlier, investigators from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate charged the boy, who cannot be named as a minor, over what the local police referred to as a “disturbance” at the gurdwara in Gravesend on July 11 evening.
The Gurdwara, one of the largest outside India, held an “All Sangat Meeting” at its Lecture Theatre on Sunday to reassure the community after it stated that ‘Guru Granth Sahib Ji’ was not present in the Darbar Hall at the time of the attack.
Two women suffered cuts and bruises in an assault outside the building shortly afterwards.
“Nobody was seriously injured during the incident and the constables recovered a bladed weapon,” the police said. According to the gurdwara’s management team, the suspect was spotted by its security team and police were called immediately. “A person has been arrested by Kent Police on suspicion of attempted murder, after entering the gurdwara and creating an incident in one of the Darbar Halls.
We can confirm that the incident happened after Sukhasan and ‘Guru Granth Sahib Ji’ were not present in the Darbar Hall,” the gurdwara said in a statement in the aftermath.
Sri Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara opened its doors to the congregation in November 2010 and is a well-known place of worship in Kent that offers regular “langar seva” for the local community.
