Devotees injured in clashes between two Sikh groups in Patna

Clashes erupted between two Sikh groups over the election of the head priest (Jathedar) in a Gurdwara on Tuesday, leaving several devotees injured.

Irate Sikhs turned violent as they took out their swords and attacked each other in the Patna Sahib Gurdwara.

Violence broke out amid celebrations of the 348th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru.

An official, Iqbal Singh,said: "The five Sikh men (Panj Pyare) are very important and even Guru Gobind Singh had followed the orders of his favourite five Sikhs. The Prabandhak(organising ) Committee is not pure and therefore, it does not have any right to remain as a member(of the main committee). It should be dissolved."

Despite the bone chilling cold, devout Sikhs gathered at the temple to seek the blessings of Guru Gobind Singh, where the tenth Sikh Guru is said to have been was born in 1666.

Sikhism was founded in the 15th century by Guru Nanak Dev in the Punjab, an area straddling the border between Pakistan and India and has had 10 successive gurus since then.

The majority of Sikh population of the world has its origins in Punjab.