UK police launch hate crime inquiry after Sikh holy text damaged outside residence in Leeds

UK Police have initiated a hate crime investigation following the report of a damaged Sikh holy text outside a residential address in the Headingley area of Leeds, northern England. The incident was reported to West Yorkshire Police by a member of the local Sikh community on Sunday. Initially, it was believed that the damaged pieces of the holy text had been placed in the victim’s bin by an unknown suspect after it was put out for refuse collection on July 11. However, this theory has been ruled out after officers visited the victim to gather more information this week. “Any crime such as this which is perceived by the victim or any other person as being motivated by hostility or prejudice to their race or religion is treated as a hate crime, and we treat all incidents of this nature very seriously,” said Chief Superintendent Steve Dodds, Leeds District Commander for West Yorkshire Police. “It is completely unacceptable for someone to deliberately damage a holy text with the aim of causing offence to the victim as a member of the Sikh community. We have launched a criminal investigation led by detectives from Leeds District CID who are carrying out extensive enquiries to establish the full circumstances of this incident and to identify who is responsible,” he said. Dodds said the police force appreciates that the incident has caused understandable concern in the local Sikh community and beyond. “We are working closely with key community representatives to reassure them and keep them updated as we progress our investigation. Officers from our local neighbourhood policing teams and other well-established community engagement officers will also be supporting our work to reassure the community following this incident,” he said. The police, which is appealing for anyone with information to come forward, said a crime has been recorded for racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage and enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of the incident, including how the damaged text came to be left where it was discovered on St. Anne’s Road.