Youths arrested with weapons after Diwali chaos at New York gurdwara, says chief

New York. Police took several youths into custody, some of them carrying illegal weapons, after banned fireworks went off around the Sikh Cultural Society gurdwara in Richmond Hill, Queens, on Diwali night, November 8, the society’s president, Jatinder Singh, has said. A New York police officer was injured.

At a press conference, Jatinder Singh offered the injured officer an unconditional apology and asked for strict action against the youths. He said the gurdwara had assured the authorities that fireworks would stay off the celebrations, but a few youngsters chose to defy the ban.

The community may be large in number here, he said, but that “does not give us the right to violate the law of the land.”

What do police say?

The NYPD is looking for two men caught on camera throwing a lit firework at a 28-year-old officer managing a crowd near 101st Avenue and 118th Street at around 9.19 pm. One man set it alight and his companion hurled it, police said, before both fled north on 118th Street.

The officer was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and is stable. He escaped burns but needed treatment for ear pain, a law enforcement source told local news site QNS. The case is being treated as reckless endangerment, with a reward of up to $3,500 on offer.

The police notice made no mention of the gurdwara, which sits a few blocks up the same street. The NYPD has not yet released the number of arrests or the type of weapons the society spoke of.

Why is the community embarrassed?

Jatinder Singh said the trouble was not limited to his gurdwara. All four gurdwaras in Richmond Hill saw similar scenes, he said. Such conduct was damaging how Punjabis and Indians abroad are seen, and a small group could cost others their chances.

As he spoke, a youth roared past the venue on a motorcycle. The president said that was exactly the problem: the younger generation was not listening to its elders.

He credited US police for handling the youths lawfully, remarking that police in India could have been far harsher.

Fireworks are banned in New York City. Thousands of devotees came to the gurdwara for Bandi Chhor Divas, which recalls Guru Hargobind Sahib’s release from Gwalior Fort. Set up in 1972, it was the city’s first major gurdwara, in the neighbourhood known as Little Punjab.