200 Sikhs surround London flat alleging grooming of a minor girl by 34-year-old man

Around 200 Sikh men and women gathered outside a council flat in Hounslow, London on Sunday night, alleging that a 34-year-old Afghan man had been grooming a 16-year-old Sikh girl, as per a TOI report. Police later intervened, taking the man away in a police van, while the girl returned to her family.

According to protesters, the girl’s parents had approached a gurdwara in Slough seeking help after their daughter left home to live with the man. They said the girl had been meeting him since the age of 14 or 15 and had been groomed. Videos circulated on X showed Sikh men confronting the man inside the building, accusing him of being a paedophile and questioning why he was involved with a minor. The man responded that he was in love with the girl and claimed he did not know her age.

Protesters alleged that the girl was kept in the flat for long hours along with five or six other men. A neighbour claimed she had seen several underage girls entering the flat over the past nine years and said she had reported the matter to the police multiple times. She added that the flat, which had previously been raided for drugs, was located close to a school and was occupied by several men.



Members of the Sikh community stood outside the building chanting slogans and questioning why police action had not been taken earlier, despite repeated complaints by the girl’s parents. In one video, Jaspal Singh of the group Shere Panjab is seen banging on the man’s door as others shout accusations.

After police arrived, the man was detained and the girl reunited with her family, who were present at the demonstration. Jaspal Singh questioned why community members had to intervene, saying that such incidents had been affecting the Sikh community for years.

Following the incident, Sikh Youth UK announced that it has launched a national inquiry into Sikh victims of grooming gangs. The Metropolitan Police had not responded to queries at the time of going to press.