‘Religious brawl’ sees men fight with swords and axes in ‘temple power struggle’

A man has nearly lost his hand after being involved in a 50-man ‘religious brawl’ in Australia.

According to the police, all those involved were members of the Brisbane Sikh Temple and the motive for the fight which took place on Monday night, September 13, was an internal “power struggle”.

Acting Superintendent Simon Tayler said the attackers were armed with weapons including swords, axes, bats and metal poles, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

According to court documents, both groups were also armed with “makeshift weaponry such as batons, golf clubs, knives and a shovel”.

Acting Superintendent Tayler said: “It would’ve been a confronting scene for anyone attending or witnessing it.”

Earlier today, September 16, 15 men were arrested and charged for their role in the altercation.

Five were charged with grievous bodily harm and affray, two were charged with assault and affray and eight were charged with affray.

“A number of local community members observed the fight, and some recordings were made, however, due to the severity of the incident, neighbours were scared for their safety and locked themselves and their families inside their dwellings,” police said.

When officers arrived, the groups scattered, leaving weapons and injured victims at the scene.

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One of these victims was 36-year-old Naginda Singh, who suffered a near-severed left hand, along with neck and head injuries.

In his victim impact statement, Mr Singh said he received a phone call that night from one of the accused men, Gurlal Singh, and they arranged to meet at a park in Runcorn – a suburb of Brisbane.

“The victim in this matter was initially located at the scene with one hand almost severed through and required emergency first aid in order to stabilise the bleeding,” police said.

Sergeant Wade Domagala described the incident as “a frenzied attack” and told the court there were allegations of previous threats being made to gain control of the Sikh temple’s committee.

Acting Superintendent Tayler added: “At no point is it acceptable to meet in an open street with the level of weaponry they had to solve whatever their issues were.

“The police service takes an exceptionally dim view on people who believe that’s how you solve disputes.”

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