Many thanks are due to the incredible Sangat that arrived for the meeting on Sunday 30th July 2023, extending their valuable support for Ronan and his family.

Since the mass resignation of 10 committee members on Thursday 27th July, the Guru Nanak Gurdwara Willenhall (GNGW) constitution states that the management committee would dissolve by default as a result. It also states that when in doubt, the Sangat’s decision is final.

Here is a breakdown of what has occurred in and around the meeting:

Saturday 29th July

The GNGW committee released a video on their social media channels to spread the message that there would be no open meeting held on Sunday 30th July. Despite this attempt to dodge any situation where they could be directly confronted, the Sangat expressed their determination to still attend via the comments sections of the social media posts. 

Sunday 30th July

10am:              Sangat was gathered in the main Diwan Hall and throughout the Gurdwara. The programme was continuing as usual. The main Ardas happened at 10:30am with no mention of the situation or any mistakes that had occurred in relation to the Gurdwara’s involvement in Ronan’s case.

11am:              Ronan supporters had started to congregate in the lobby, numbering around 30 individuals. The ladies heading the group requested the opportunity to address the Sangat about the reason for the gathering but were denied access to Guru Ji’s Darbar Sahib by Gurdwara Committee representatives including Santokh Singh, Trilochan Singh, Sukhdev Singh and Jarnail Singh, who eventually agreed to provide a different space for the conversation. 

The concerned Sangat was led to the back of the building where the Punjabi School is situated, and then were ushered into a medium sized classroom. A dialogue was started, with the Ronan representatives requesting for the remaining committee members to be true to their claim of being present to answer any questions. None of the committee members who have been highlighted in this petition were to be seen. The space was clearly not suitable for the situation and quickly reached maximum standing capacity as the Ronan supporters continued to fill the room. 

12pm:              The Sangat were moved to the Tea Hall upstairs, which was swiftly filled by around 400 attendees, featuring Police Officers who came to monitor the event and provide a presence. The Sangat demanded Gurdwara Committee representatives summon all committee members, especially Tirath Singh, Shingara Singh, Jaswinder Singh, Harpreet Singh, Karanbeer Singh and Harwinder Singh to present themselves for questioning. Eventually, all of the aforementioned arrived except Tirath Singh and Shingara Singh. 

1pm:                There was initially no provision for a microphone from the Gurdwara, however someone from the Sangat outsourced one. Sukhi Kaur from Sikh Womens Aid and Sarbjit Singh from Rajoana TV assisted in coordinating the communication between the Sangat and the committee members under scrutiny. Sangat initiated questions around the subjects of character reference protocols, the physical attack that occurred on a Sangat member the Sunday before and the reasoning behind the lack of accountability and unwillingness to resign. Gurnam Singh who was the General Secretary during the issuing of the character reference for Sukhman Shergill offered his apologies to the Sangat, reminded attendees of his resignation, and expressed that he was open to any other penalty that the Sangat decided. 

Committee members, Karanbeer, Jaswinder, Harpreet and Harwinder were defiant in their defence of attending the murder trial in support of Sukhman Shergill’s family. These four committee members also justified the assault carried out on the Sangat member who was present in the congregation, by saying it was down to the situation getting out of control. They offered no apologies and said they would not resign. 

One brave woman even came forward to speak on the mic with a serious accusation about one of the four aforementioned individuals acting with indecent and inappropriate conduct towards her.

2pm:                The Sangat in attendance then publicly voted on whether Tirath, Shingara, Karanbeer, Jaswinder, Harpreet and Harwinder should remain in Gurdwara management positions. The vote was overwhelmingly to remove them and a Jaikara was given to sanctify the decision. There was collective unity by the remainder of the committee members, the local & wider community and membership in attendance that these individuals should be removed and barred from their positions of authority. 

https://www.tiktok.com/@harjap.bhangal/video/7263027202571111713?_r=1&_t=8eXKHalLdQn

Karanbeer, Jaswinder, Harpreet and Harwinder ignored the Sangat’s wishes, said they would not resign under any circumstances and walked out of the meeting despite several attempts by the attending Sangat to sit them down and resume peaceful talks imploring them to resign. 

Resigned committee members Kulwant Kaur and Jaskamal Kaur both spoke out expressing their solidarity with the Kanda family and condemning the actions of the committee members highlighted in this petition.

The Sangat were adamant not to leave the premises until some type of resolution was reached but were ushered out due to the mass arrival of youngsters who were attending a youth camp onsite.  

The Sangat was assured by Gurdwara Management that within seven days of the meeting on Sunday 30th July 2023, they could expect the following to be actioned, with relevant updates provided: 

1.     Gurnam Singh the former General Secretary would work towards retracting the character reference, informing the relevant parties that the information provided within it is not an accurate account of Sukhman Shergill, and was obtained without Gurnam Singh knowing Sukhman Shergill was being tried for murder. 

2.     Tirath, Shangara, Karanbeer, Jaswinder, Harpreet and Harwinder would be forced to stand down from their roles as per the public vote of no-confidence in these individuals due to their lack of remorse or regret for their actions and the ongoing trauma they caused to Pooja Kanda and her family, post the murder of their son Ronan Kanda. 

Wednesday 2nd August

Sangat members visited GNGW and hand posted an official letter of complaint to the Gurdwara Management office, which outlined the above two promised assurances, posted it on the lobby message board and hand delivered it to committee members Jaswinder Singh & Harpreet Singh, and trustee Satwinder Singh who were found onsite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF1_iKly3qs

Since the meeting on Sunday 30th July 2023, numerous social media posts have been virally shared all over the world, showcasing some of the brave Sangat who came forward in support of Ronan’s cause. 

https://www.tiktok.com/@harjap.bhangal/video/7261925474866040091?_r=1&_t=8eS7o6MD9Jg

Ronan supporters have decided to reiterate their message with another Sangat gathering at Guru Nanak Gurdwara Willenhall, Willenhall, WV13 2RD on Sunday 6th August at 10am. 

Please share the message and attend with your friends and families. We cannot allow the corrupt GNGW management committee to terrorise the Sangat any longer. This committee must be removed.