India has taken up with Australia the incident of some unidentified people setting fire at an under-construction building on the premises of a Gurdwara in Melbourne.<br/><br/>An External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said they are aware of reports about a building under construction on the premises of the Nanaksar Taath Gurdwara in Cranbourne, a suburb of Melbourne, being damaged in a fire that broke out on January 12.<br/><br/>The spokesperson said that some unidentified miscreants had set fire at the construction site, which is located at about 300 odd meters from the Nanaksar Taath Gurdwara. No one was injured and no structural damage has been caused to the building.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, Australian police today claimed that the blaze in a gurdwara at Melbourne is a deliberate act and the possibility of arsonists using Molotov cocktails is being probed. The outraged Sikh community, on the other hand called the incident race-related and an attack on Indians. <br/><br/>The partially-built Gurdwara in Lynbrook area in the city was damaged due to the fire that yesterday. Reacting to the incident, Gurdwara elder Satnam Singh said the wilful destruction of a God house is an attack on Indians. <br/><br/>Detective Senior Constable Paul Stow, in charge of the investigation, said police believed the arson to be a deliberately lit fire. However, detectives are yet to find out whether the incident had any race angle to it.
News On AIR | January 14, 2010 9:27 PM
India takes up incident of setting fire of a under-construction Gurdwara with Australia