Gurdwara shooting: Visiting India Sikh guru dies of wounds

Vienna, May 25 (PTI) An Indian Sikh guru, one of the
two visiting religious preachers shot during a violent clash
between two groups of the community at a gurdwara here,
succumbed to his injuries Sunday midnight.

The guru, Sant Rama Nand, 57, who was injured after
Sikh followers clashed with knives and a pistol at a gurdwara
in Vienna's 15th district Sunday, in which nearly 30 people
were injured, died of his wounds in the hospital, police said.

"The doctor was initially satisfied with the condition
of the injured after an emergency operation. However, he lost
consciousness and died shortly after midnight," a spokesperson
told the media Monday.

However, the condition of the other visiting guru, 66-
year-old Sant Niranjan Dass is said to be stable after doctors
performed an emergency operation, he said. The two belonged to
the Shri Guru Ravidas Sabha movement.

Some 3,000 Sikhs live in Austria.
Meanwhile, Indian authorities clamped curfew and army
called out at Jalandhar in northern state of Punjab after
violence erupted and protestors resorted to arson Sunday night
in the town, following the clash in the Austrian capital.

In fact, the fight erupted Sunday following a dispute
over the sermon given by one of the two Sikh gurus.

Soon after at least six men, one wielding a gun and
the others knives, attacked the preacher as others rushed to
his rescue, resulting in a melee.

The police said that two of the offenders, 45-year-old
Tarsem Singh and 28-year-old Satwinder Singh, who were injured
in the clash, have been discharged from the hospital and are
in custody. Four other suspects have also been arrested.

A spokesperson had Sunday described the scene at the
temple like "a battlefield".

About 400 people were at the service when the fight
broke out in the temple. Four ambulances and three medical
helicopters were pressed into service to transport the victims
to hospitals. PTI MOT
RAI
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