Desecration of holy book outrages Sikh community in Union City

Police in Union City have asked the public for help in tracking down a man who interrupted a meeting of Sikh elders at a park and desecrated a holy book in front of them.

The incident happened Tuesday night at Contempo Park in Union City when the man walked up to the group and began tearing apart the Guru Granth Sahib, a book of Sikh scriptures.

“While our legal options are limited to the facts, our intent is to do all we can to promote a feeling of safety and solidarity to our entire Union City community,” an official from the Union City Police Department wrote in a Facebook post about the incident.

No witnesses got the license plate number of the man's car or recognized him, officials said.

Police officials said they want to speak with the man about the incident “as a matter of due diligence and to confirm there are no other aspects of the incident about which we are unaware.”

Despite the act outraging the Sikh community in Union City, police officials said in terms of legality, no laws were broken and that their approach to handling the situation must be consistent with both the facts and the law.

“While we understand the man's behavior may be considered disrespectful or repugnant, or even a violation of the laws of other nations, we also recognize that the First Amendment of the United States Constitution allows for free speech and free expression,” police officials wrote in their Facebook post.

Singh said the community would submit a formal request to the Police Department to see what next steps would be taken to make the community once again “feel comfortable and safe in the area.”