Shameful! In US Gurudwara, Fight With Sticks, Pepper Spray

California : Massive brawl at a California Gurudwara over the weekend, sparked off by leadership issues, was caught on a phone camera. The intensity of the situation at Turlock Gurdwara Sahib – involving pepper spray, musical instruments and wooden sticks – forced local police to move in with tasers drawn.
Different factions have been fighting for leadership of the gurdwara for years. They’re now in a legal battle to win control over the temple’s decisions. In October 2015, a US court had ruled that a gurdwara management faction in California that forcibly took control in June 2013 acted illegally. The court had said the defendants must give up the control of the Turlock gurdwara’s facilities, records and finances immediately.The court also prohibited the current administration of the gurdwara from serving for the next five years.According to court documents, a rift developed between two factions of the gurdwara management over the decision of the then newly-formed board of directors to terminate the contract of Attar Singh, a priest of the Sikh temple.The disagreement turned physical in June 2013. After a few weeks of violence, the group protesting the decision changed the door locks of the gurdwara and took control of the administration.