Militant Sikhs ruin wedding after barricading temple
They were opposed to multi-faith marriage
A BRIDE'S wedding day was ruined after a group of 40 militant Sikhs locked themselves inside a temple to protest her inter-faith marriage.
The mob of hardliners stormed the building to prevent the marriage between Sikh Susan Momi and Christian Kenny Lawrence, who is believed to be of West African background.
The group arrived in a fleet of vans at 7am on Saturday morning and locked the doors and gates at the gurdwara — a Sikh place of worship — and stayed until 2pm.
In a statement online, the group in Swindon, Wilts, claimed they had acted peacefully to stop an inter-faith union at the temple.
Susan's devastated mother Harbhajan said: "Words can't express how I feel — we are all in shock.
"They went inside the temple, locked the doors and switched the security cameras off.
"They ate all the food and then told him (the groom) 'go or we'll kill you'. We also had relatives from other parts of the world turn up for the wedding who didn't know what was going on.
"I was getting ready to go to the temple when I had a phone call from a friend telling me to stay away. It was awful, my heart is still going even now."
The ceremony had been agreed by the gurdwara's managing committee, but the militant group claimed the couple were not permitted to be married in the temple — as they were from different faiths.
The bride's family say couples from different religions have married before at the gurdwara without incident and claimed the protests were racist.
Harbhajan said: "This had nothing to do with religion. There was nothing to stop the ceremony in the gurdwara.
"This was all to do with the colour of his skin."
The group briefly left the temple, believing a holy book had been removed from the site and taken to Swindon's Lydiard Park for another ceremony.
But they returned a short time later and stayed until the afternoon. A civil ceremony between the couple did go ahead at another venue.
Raghdir Bains, a committee member at the Punjabi Community Centre, said: "Nearly everybody in the Sikh community in Swindon is absolutely against what took place.
"We live in a multi-cultural society and if that's the wish of the girl and her parents then it should go ahead.
"The majority of the hardliners were from Birmingham and Southall and they have been responsible for damage to another temple in Walsall.
"The committee had accepted the booking and it should have gone ahead. Local families went to the gates to complain, but there was no one to stop the militants.
"I think the reason no one from the community went in is because they know the record of these people.
"The hardliners would have met any challenge with violence. People were afraid they would lose their lives if they challenged them."
A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said: "We can confirm that we dealt with a small protest by a group of men in Swindon on Saturday. The protest was conducted peacefully.
"We believe the protestors objected to an event which was due to take place at the Swindon gurdwara. Our officers continue to liaise with the protestors and the community."
They were opposed to multi-faith marriage
A BRIDE'S wedding day was ruined after a group of 40 militant Sikhs locked themselves inside a temple to protest her inter-faith marriage.
The mob of hardliners stormed the building to prevent the marriage between Sikh Susan Momi and Christian Kenny Lawrence, who is believed to be of West African background.
The group arrived in a fleet of vans at 7am on Saturday morning and locked the doors and gates at the gurdwara — a Sikh place of worship — and stayed until 2pm.
In a statement online, the group in Swindon, Wilts, claimed they had acted peacefully to stop an inter-faith union at the temple.
Susan's devastated mother Harbhajan said: "Words can't express how I feel — we are all in shock.
"They went inside the temple, locked the doors and switched the security cameras off.
"They ate all the food and then told him (the groom) 'go or we'll kill you'. We also had relatives from other parts of the world turn up for the wedding who didn't know what was going on.
"I was getting ready to go to the temple when I had a phone call from a friend telling me to stay away. It was awful, my heart is still going even now."
The ceremony had been agreed by the gurdwara's managing committee, but the militant group claimed the couple were not permitted to be married in the temple — as they were from different faiths.
The bride's family say couples from different religions have married before at the gurdwara without incident and claimed the protests were racist.
Harbhajan said: "This had nothing to do with religion. There was nothing to stop the ceremony in the gurdwara.
"This was all to do with the colour of his skin."
The group briefly left the temple, believing a holy book had been removed from the site and taken to Swindon's Lydiard Park for another ceremony.
But they returned a short time later and stayed until the afternoon. A civil ceremony between the couple did go ahead at another venue.
Raghdir Bains, a committee member at the Punjabi Community Centre, said: "Nearly everybody in the Sikh community in Swindon is absolutely against what took place.
"We live in a multi-cultural society and if that's the wish of the girl and her parents then it should go ahead.
"The majority of the hardliners were from Birmingham and Southall and they have been responsible for damage to another temple in Walsall.
"The committee had accepted the booking and it should have gone ahead. Local families went to the gates to complain, but there was no one to stop the militants.
"I think the reason no one from the community went in is because they know the record of these people.
"The hardliners would have met any challenge with violence. People were afraid they would lose their lives if they challenged them."
A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said: "We can confirm that we dealt with a small protest by a group of men in Swindon on Saturday. The protest was conducted peacefully.
"We believe the protestors objected to an event which was due to take place at the Swindon gurdwara. Our officers continue to liaise with the protestors and the community."
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