Sikh temple leaders hope to prevent future violence

The day after a violent encounter at the Tierra Buena Sikh Temple in Yuba City left two men stabbed and a third assaulted, temple leaders were trying to move on and figure out how to prevent a reoccurrence.

Tejinder Singh Dosanjh, a member of the temple's board, said he didn't know the condition of those stabbed in the Saturday night melee, but regular services Sunday were peaceful.

"No doubt what happened was shameful," he said on Sunday afternoon. "But today everyone was happy and everything was fine."

Dosanjh spoke as he and other temple board members met to discuss ways to prevent such an incident from happening again. At the time of Saturday's incident, he said, he and other board members were discussing when to schedule regular meetings for the rest of the year, because the normal date of the 25th of the month would be busy due to other holidays.

"Then we heard all this going on outside," he said. "The board members are here this morning, everyone, to discuss this and make sure any kind of meeting in the future, they have enough security."

Dosanjh said he was not aware of any arrests made in connection with the incident, which apparently took place when two groups began to brawl at about 6:45 p.m. Saturday.

In addition to the stabbings, several other people suffered minor injuries and more than a dozen people were pepper-sprayed.

The Sutter County Sheriff's Department responded to the incident on Tierra Buena Road, but investigators said witnesses and people involved gave widely differing accounts of what happened. A department dispatcher said Sunday they had no new information about the incident.

Dosanjh said he did not know the reason for the altercation.

Temple members have been split this year over a disagreement over an election for temple board members, and law enforcement responded to two reports of violence there in August.

CONTACT Ben van der Meer at bvandermeer@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4786. Find him on Facebook at /ADbvandermeer or on Twitter at @ADbvandermeer.