Six charged with Vienna preacher murder

Vienna, Austria - The Austrian authorities have charged six Indian men over a gun attack in a Vienna temple last year in which a visiting preacher was killed.

One of the men has been charged with murder and the others are accused of collaboration in the attack in the Austrian capital last May.

Indian preacher Sant Ramanand, 57, was shot dead and 16 others were injured, including another preacher.

The attack sparked violent protests in the state of Punjab in India.

The main suspect, a 35-year-old man, was indicted on one charge of murder and two counts of attempted murder.

The other five, who are aged between 29 and 46, were charged with involvement in the murder, as well as attempted assault.

It is believed the incident may have been related to a religious dispute between an orthodox Sikh group and Mr Ramanand's sect, which is made up of lower caste Hindus and Sikhs.

Prosecutors said the attack had been planned in advance and was probably carried out by a radical Sikh group based in Spain, where some of the accused had been before the attack.

A trial date has not yet been set.