This is Leicestershire -- A spiritual leader who survived an axe attack in a Leicester temple has denied accusations he had sexually abused his attacker when he was a boy. Sirisat Guru Uday Singh, the Sikh spiritual leader of the Namdhari sect, gave evidence by video link to a jury at Birmingham Crown Court today about the attack in which he suffered a broken arm and a deep cut to his face. His attacker, Harjip Singh Toor (27) of Woods Close, Oadby, admits carrying out the attack but denies a charge of attempted murder. During cross examination Toor's barrister, Francis Laird, asked the spiritual leader about two alleged sexual assaults on Toor in 1994 and 1995 in India. Mr Laird said: "Over the Christmas period for a number of years there were gatherings you attended before you were elevated to leader of the sect." Mr Laird then accused the spiritual leader of touching Toor, who was seven or eight at the time, inappropriately. The spiritual leader denied attending the gatherings or ever meeting Toor. He said: "I have never met him, as far as my memory goes. "There had been no contact, absolutely that's not true." Mr Laird went on to accuse the spiritual leader of also meeting Toor at the sect headquarters in Punjab and "touching him inappropriately". The spiritual leader denied any assault and he said it was "totally absurd" and said he had spent most of his adult life in Bangalore and only paid regular visits to the Namdhari headquarters in the past 10 years as his predecessor became unable to travel. Earlier in the hearing the spiritual leader was asked by prosecutor Gordon Aspden about the axe attack, which took place at the gurdwara, in Linden Street, Leicester, on August 11, last year. He replied: "When he walked in, he was walking slowly, when he came close, he removed his shawl and suddenly came out with the axe. "As he came on the platform, he made a swing, targeting my head with the axe. "My sudden reaction was to lift my right arm and move slightly backwards. "I had a lot of pain in my arm, it was excruciating." He said he still had a scar on his face from the axe blow. The trial continues.
Reported by This is 13 hours ago.
This is Leicestershire -- A spiritual leader who survived an axe attack in a Leicester temple has denied accusations he had sexually abused his attacker when he was a boy. Sirisat Guru Uday Singh, the Sikh spiritual leader of the Namdhari sect, gave evidence by video link to a jury at Birmingham Crown Court today about the attack in which he suffered a broken arm and a deep cut to his face. His attacker, Harjip Singh Toor (27) of Woods Close, Oadby, admits carrying out the attack but denies a charge of attempted murder. During cross examination Toor's barrister, Francis Laird, asked the spiritual leader about two alleged sexual assaults on Toor in 1994 and 1995 in India. Mr Laird said: "Over the Christmas period for a number of years there were gatherings you attended before you were elevated to leader of the sect." Mr Laird then accused the spiritual leader of touching Toor, who was seven or eight at the time, inappropriately. The spiritual leader denied attending the gatherings or ever meeting Toor. He said: "I have never met him, as far as my memory goes. "There had been no contact, absolutely that's not true." Mr Laird went on to accuse the spiritual leader of also meeting Toor at the sect headquarters in Punjab and "touching him inappropriately". The spiritual leader denied any assault and he said it was "totally absurd" and said he had spent most of his adult life in Bangalore and only paid regular visits to the Namdhari headquarters in the past 10 years as his predecessor became unable to travel. Earlier in the hearing the spiritual leader was asked by prosecutor Gordon Aspden about the axe attack, which took place at the gurdwara, in Linden Street, Leicester, on August 11, last year. He replied: "When he walked in, he was walking slowly, when he came close, he removed his shawl and suddenly came out with the axe. "As he came on the platform, he made a swing, targeting my head with the axe. "My sudden reaction was to lift my right arm and move slightly backwards. "I had a lot of pain in my arm, it was excruciating." He said he still had a scar on his face from the axe blow. The trial continues.
Reported by This is 13 hours ago.