Rajvir Raj Singh Gill was arrested in California for allegedly trying to rent folks to shoot a number of folks and burn down a prominent Gurdwara.
| Photo Credit: ANI
A 60-year-old Indian-origin Sikh man has been arrested in the U.S. for allegedly trying to rent folks to shoot a number of folks and burn down a prominent Gurdwara in California, in accordance to media experiences.
Rajvir Raj Singh Gill, a former Bakersfield City Council candidate, was arrested on March 4 for allegedly concentrating on one in all Bakersfield’s largest Sikh locations of worship, Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Ji Khalsa Darbar, and burning down the property, bakersfield.com portal reported.
Mr. Gill was arrested in reference to six counts of prison threats after officers executed a search warrant at his residence, the report mentioned.
The Bakersfield Police Department mentioned in addition to providing somebody cash in alternate for burning down the gurdwara, Mr. Gill tried to pay folks to shoot others who he had an ongoing dispute with, 23abc.com portal reported.
Mr. Gill had tried to run for City Council Ward 7 towards Manpreet Kaur in 2022. Ms. Kaur gained the election and was the primary Sikh Punjabi lady elected to the Bakersfield City Council, the report added.
Ms. Kaur, who gained the seat for Ward 7, issued the next assertion: “I am aware of the alleged allegations. I am confident the Bakersfield Police department is working diligently to keep our community safe and will address the matter accordingly. Hearing this news is distressing and frightening. This is one of our most highly attended Sikh temples locally. To hear of an alleged attempt to destroy a place of worship is heartbreaking and unfathomable.”
“He hired the people. Those people, whoever he hired, came and told us and they made a report to the police. So, the police called us and they got our information and everything and asked questions and we told them what’s going on, and that’s when everything happened,” mentioned Amrik Singh Athwal, a temple board member.
A Bakersfield Police Department spokesman declined Tuesday to deal with what could have prompted Mr. Gill to take the actions he’s accused of, and he wouldn’t elaborate on the case.
A temple elder mentioned Tuesday that Mr. Gill has in current months proven up on the property disrupting prayers and threatening members of the congregation and carrying a gun earlier than being arrested at one level. There aren’t any information of his arrest prior to Saturday.
The elder, Sukhwinder Singh Ranghi, attributed the repeated confrontations to a dispute over greater than $800,000, contributed by members of the congregation, that was supposed to reimburse a company entity arrange to purchase the temple out of foreclosures in July 2020.
“It’s the greed that most likely got to him,” Mr. Ranghi was quoted as saying by bakersfield.com.
Mr. Ranghi mentioned the temple discovered Mr. Gill provided $10,000 to two Hispanic males to kill sure leaders of the congregation who’re concerned in the courtroom circumstances, together with Mr. Ranghi. He mentioned Mr. Gill drove the lads across the metropolis stating the houses of the temple leaders he wished to be killed. This info got here to temple management from an affiliate of the supposed hitmen.
With greater than 500 members, Shaheed is one in all Bakersfield’s best-attended Sikh temples. It hosts an annual celebration in late October that pulls 1000’s.
