Kabul/New Delhi, Oct 5 (UNI) A group of heavily armed men, resembling the Taliban militia in appearance, entered the Gurdwara Karte Parwan in Kabul, tied up the three guards there, rummaged through the cupboards of the gurdwara office and left after smashing some CCTV cameras, Afghan Hindu and Sikh residents in Kabul told UNI.
Gurnam Singh, an Afghan Sikh living in Kabul, told UNI on phone that some unidentified armed persons, around 15-16 in number, entered the Gurdwara Karte Parwan in the late afternoon and "bound the hands and feet of the three guards there".
“They smashed some CCTVs cameras on their way out. We informed the local authorities and they were at the Gurdwara to inspect the damage,” Gurnam Singh said on phone.
Ram Sharan Singh, an Afghan Hindu gentleman living in Kabul, told UNI that the armed men came dressed looking like the Taliban, but they would know their identity after studying the footage of the CCTV cameras that captured their presence.
“We have handed over the footage to the CBI (investigative agency) here. They will check the footage and we will know about the identities of the men tomorrow,” Singh told UNI over phone.
Ram Sharan Singh said the men smashed around 4-5 CCTV cameras at the gurdwara. Asked if they were alright, he answered: “Yes, everything is ok right now.”
CCTV footage of the incident shows men dressed like the Taliban with flowing beards, and attired in turbans, loose shalwar-kameez, rummaging through drawers of the Gurdwara office.
Gurnam Singh said the three guards whose hands and feet were bound by the armed men were Muslim.
The men had entered the Gurdwara at around 3.15 pm.
Earlier, Puneet Singh Chandhok, President Indian World Forum, said that a group of "unidentified heavily armed Taliban officials" entered the Gurdwara Karte Parwan in Kabul.
He said “they have taken the community present in the Gurdwara into custody”, which earlier was mistaken to be members of the Afghan Sikh community.
“It is being alleged by the locals on the ground that the officials have broken the CCTV cameras of the Gurdwara and vandalized the Gurdwara,” Chandhok said.
In a tweet, he said that the unidentified men “not only abused the sanctity of the holy place but also vandalised it.”
He requested the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs to look into the safety and well-being of “our Hindu and Sikh brethren living there”.
UNI/RN