A man is facing charges in connection with the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl, which police said may have taken place at or near a Gurdwara in Surrey.
Ajastar Singh, 59, is facing one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual interference of a person under 16 years old, Surrey RCMP said in a news release Friday.
He was arrested on July 4 and later released with several conditions prohibiting him from working with children or being in places where they would be present.
This is the first time the accused’s name has been released. A man of the same age was arrested and then released last year but wasn’t charged.
At the time of the first arrest, Mounties said the man was an employee of the temple, Gurdwara Dukh Nivaran, in the Newton neighbourhood. Police also believed the alleged crime occurred “at or in the area” of the Gurdwara.
The Sikh Press Association, however, tells Daily Hive that the individual charged was not a Gurdwara employee and that the incident did not occur on Gurdwara property. The organization did not provide corroborating evidence for their claims.
“All BC Sikh organizations condemn any issues of sexual abuse and will always work to support survivors of such issues,” the association said.
When Daily Hive asked RCMP about the Sikh organization’s allegations that their initial reports about the incident were inaccurate, Mounties said they couldn’t comment since the case was before the courts.