CHANDIGARH: In a racially motivated hate crime, a 42-year-old man has been arrested and charged by the West Midlands Police in the United Kingdom for allegedly throwing a bag of meat outside a gurdwara in the Black Country.
In a statement issued recently, the West Midlands Police said that a man had been charged after emptying a bag of meat outside a gurdwara in West Bromwich last month.
Tomasz Bruch (42), who has no fixed address, was arrested and charged on January 15. He was produced before the Wolverhampton Magistrates’ Court.
“On December 22, we received a report that a man walked past the Guru Nanak Gurdwara on Edward Street and emptied a bag of raw meat outside. Following an investigation, which included lengthy CCTV trawls by the West Bromwich Neighbourhood Team, Tomasz Bruch, aged 42, of no fixed address, has been charged with a hate crime offence. He has been remanded in custody to appear at Wolverhampton Magistrates’ Court today,” the statement read.
It added, “We will not tolerate any forms of hate crime, and we will continue to bring hate crime offenders to justice.”
The police also urged the public to report hate crimes.
“If you witness a hate crime or incident, make sure to report it. Not only will this help us deal with the incident, but reporting to the police will help us understand the extent of hate crime in your local area, so we can improve how we tackle and prevent future incidencts,” it said.
Thanking the West Midlands Police, Labour MP for West Bromwich, Sarah Coombes, who had earlier raised the issue in the UK Parliament, wrote on X and attached a video, “Recently Guru Nanak Gurdwara was attacked in a racially motivated hate crime. I’m glad that the police have identified, arrested and charged someone in connection with this instance of horrible hatred.”
The committee of Guru Nanak Gurdwara said in a statement that following investigations, the gurdwara had been informed that on January 14, a man was arrested on suspicion of carrying out the hate crime.
“The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has approved the charges against the individual, and he has been remanded in police custody awaiting the next available court date. We take this opportunity to thank the sangat, councillors, local law enforcement officers and Sarah Coombes MP for West Bromwich for highlighting the seriousness of this issue and taking necessary steps,” it said.
Earlier, the gurdwara committee had stated that on December 23, its representatives held meetings with the police, MPs and local councillors and were assured that the incident had been taken seriously. They had also urged people to provide any information they had about the individual involved.