The Guru Nanak Gurdwara Sahib in Leith city, Scotland was set on fire at around 5 am on Tuesday. According to a report by BBC, the fire was believed to be a "deliberate" act.
The police are treating this "suspicious" act as a hate crime, according to a media report. Police in Edinburgh is investigating the suspected arson attack as a hate crime.
Facebook / GuruNanakGurdwaraEdinburgh
A post on the temple's official Facebook page said: "We regret to inform you that Guru Nanak Gurdwara suffered an arson attack this morning at 5 am. Someone tried to burn down the front door. There's a lot of internal smoke damage, and access to Gurdwara Sahib has been denied by police until the smoke clears and it is safe to enter," the post read.?
The police officers said that the fire was extinguished relatively quickly and no one was injured, but nevertheless, we are treating this incident with the utmost seriousness.
A committee member at the temple said, "the Gurdwara Sahib enjoys a good relationship with the local community here and I'm quite surprised at this attack. Humza Yousaf, the Scottish government's justice secretary, said he was "saddened at the news that a Sikh temple in Edinburgh was petrol-bombed".? However, a spokesperson for Police Scotland insisted the exact cause of the blaze was still under investigation and refused to confirm that it was the result of a petrol bombing, the report said.?