Suspects in Sikh temple attack identified

VIENNA (AFP) - Austrian police identified for the first time Thursday the six suspects in Sunday’s attack on a
Sikh temple in Vienna that killed one and left 17 injured.
The six men, all from Punjab or other northern Indian states, had given several names to the police, which is why
they could not be identified sooner, police spokesman Michael Takacs said.
All six were in custody, although one of them, believed to be the mastermind behind the attack, was still in
hospital in an induced coma after a shot to the head, according to police.
Takacs revealed that two of the men — named only as S. Charnjit, 24, from Uttar Pradesh, and S. Hardeep, 33
— had come to Austria illegally in 2001 and 2008.
The other four were seeking asylum.
S. Sukhwinder, 28, from the state of Haryana, arrived in 2001, citing a family feud for fleeing India, while S.
Jaspal, 34, came in 2008 and requested asylum on religious grounds.
S. Satwinder, 28, from Uttar Pradesh and S. Tarsum, 45, from Gujarat, made only vague asylum claims. None of
the men were related or had a prior criminal record, Takacs also said.
The men are accused of attacking a gathering at a Sikh temple on Sunday with knives and at least one gun,
killing a visiting guru from India, Sant Rama Nand, 57, and injuring 17 people. A second Indian guru, Sant
Niranjan Dass, 68, is still in hospital under close protection but slowly recovering after receiving two bullets in the
abdomen and the hip.
The clash ignited unrest in India that caused at least two deaths and led to heightened security across the
northern state of Punjab earlier this week.
Austrian police was also investigating reports that a group known as Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) had
claimed responsibility for the attack, Takacs said.
The temple at Pelzgasse, where the attack occurred, said it had received threats from another Viennese Sikh
temple in connection with the visit by the two Indian gurus.
Opened in December 2005, it has protested the caste system that remains popular among some Sikhs and has
been accused of not strictly following Sikh traditions.
About 2,800 Sikhs live in Austria, according to statistics.