Seventeen people were charged after a more than two-month investigation into a fight earlier this year at a Sikh temple in Greenwood.
All of the people were charged with disorderly conduct, and two were charged with an additional count of battery causing bodily injury. All of the charges are misdemeanors, according to charging documents.
The charges were filed more than a month after police had recommended charging four people in the incident, and Johnson County Prosecutor Brad Cooper said he wanted to charge everyone involved in the incident. At the time, Cooper estimated that would be about 40 people, and police said identifying all of those people caught on surveillance video would be impossible.
Since then, Cooper worked with police and victims in the incident to review surveillance video from the temple showing the brawl to identify the aggressors, he said in an email.
Gurinder Singh Khalsa, a leader of the Sikh community, said the charges will send a message that such acts will have consequences.
“These individuals not only did this criminal act, but it’s also very shameful they were in a place of worship,” Singh said. “This itself is sending a strong message that other people dare not do this again.”
The charges stem from a brawl on April 15 at the Gurdwara Shri Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji temple in Greenwood. Sikh officials have told police the brawl stemmed from the naming of new leadership for the temple on Graham Road.
More than 100 people were involved, and several people were injured, according to court records. Cooper has said all of the county’s law enforcement officers were called to the scene.
Surveillance video shows people hitting and choking each other, spraying mace or pepper spray and people using sticks to hit each other, according to court documents. One man told police he dodged a sword, the report said.
At least two people needed medical treatment for injuries, including a man with a broken shoulder who also needed stitches for a wound caused by another man hitting him with a stick with nails, according to charging documents. A child, 13-year-old Manreet Mahal, was also injured and required treatment after being sprayed with mace during the brawl. The girl had to take medications for her reaction to the mace, and needed mental health treatment due to the trauma, charging documents said.
Mahal said she had seen the man who sprayed her at the temple multiple times after the brawl occurred.
“I’m scared of him, so I wouldn’t talk to him,” she said.
The following people were charged with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor which is punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, and battery resulting in bodily injury, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine:
Amardeep Singh, 25, 657 Fireside Drive, Greenwood.
Harpreet Singh, 37, 448 Legacy Blvd., Greenwood.
The following people were charged with disorderly conduct:
Karanjit S. Mann, 28, 1490 Sandy Bay Drive, Apt. A, Greenwood.
Rupinderjit Singh, 45, 2246 Leeward Court, Greenwood.
Jaswinder Singh, 50, 7901 Interlochen St., Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Gurpreet S. Grewal, 42, 639 Timeless Run, Greenwood.
Jagir Singh, 44, 271 Legacy Blvd., Greenwood.
Jasdeep S. Singh Pawra, 35, 3062 Generation Way, Greenwood.
Parmdeep Singh, 38, 625 Timeless Run, Greenwood.
Daljit Singh, 34, 1338 Garden Terrace Ave., Greenwood.
Jatinder S. Mindha, 38, 2021 Crown Plaza Blvd., Plainfield.
Satnam Singh, 41, 681 Fireside Drive, Greenwood.
Gurnam Singh, 59, 657 Fireside Drive, Greenwood.
Rubaldeep S. Pawra, 34, 3062 Generation Way, Greenwood.
Balbir Singh, 52, 1274 Jesse Court, Greenwood.
Baljinder Singh, 34, 429 Legacy Blvd., Greenwood.
Balwinder S. Kahkh, 56, 2965 Heirloom Lane, Greenwood.
None of the people charged had been arrested by Monday afternoon.
