Austrian temple clash planned: police

Austrian police said on Monday that a visiting Indian guru shot dead in a weekend clash between rival Sikh communities at a temple in Vienna died in a planned attack.

Austrian police said on Monday that a visiting Indian guru shot dead in a weekend clash between rival Sikh communities at a temple in Vienna died in a planned attack.

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"The attack had clearly been planned," police spokesman Michael Takacs said, adding that an investigation is continuing to determine if the six attackers were acting alone or under orders.

Takacs said the perpetrators, who pulled out knives and a gun Sunday as gurus preached at the temple where about 200 people had gathered, are Indian nationals who had lived in Austria for "certain period of time."

Four of them remain in a critical state in hospital, but the remaining two were able to be questioned, he added.

The guru, Sant Rama Nand, 56, one of two visiting the Austrian capital, died of his wounds in hospital after the Sunday clashes, in which about 16 people were also injured, police said.