Indian-origin Sikh leader arrested

New york: A 60-year-old Indian-origin Sikh man has been arrested in the US for allegedly attempting to hire people to shoot multiple people and burn down a prominent Gurdwara in California, according to media reports. Rajvir Raj Singh Gill, a former Bakersfield City Council candidate, was arrested on March 4 for allegedly targeting one of Bakersfield’s largest Sikh places of worship, Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Ji Khalsa Darbar, and burning down the property, bakersfield.com portal reported.

Gill was arrested in connection with six counts of criminal threats after officers executed a search warrant at his residence, the report said. The Bakersfield Police Department said in addition to offering someone money in exchange for burning down the gurdwara, Gill tried to pay people to shoot others who he had an ongoing dispute with, 23abc.com portal reported.