The trouble started when 79 women were refused entry at the temple on Sunday morning to vote in the management polls.

Their opponents said they were not entitled to vote because they had not registered in advance, the media in London reported.

A group of women then surrounded a man’s car and attempted to roll it over while other worshippers also jostled with each other, following which six riot vans were dispatched to the scene, the ‘Daily Mail’ said.

The dispute centres on two warring factions in the temple’s 650-strong membership over whether women should take part in management elections.

Police also arrested one man during the seven-hour stand-off with voting finally finishing in the evening after a delayed start and leading to election of three women to the temple management committee for the first time in its history, the report said.

“There are 650 registered members at the temple and, while this isn’t an issue of the community against the police, there are two factions of the community in London who can’t reconcile their differences,” Chief Inspector Rob Dean of Avon was quoted as saying by the paper.

Describing the election of three women as a historical moment for Sikh women in Bristol, temple spokesperson Satjeevan Kaur said “We are going to be equal to men and to make decisions equal to the men.” Paul Mathew, who runs his shop 50 yards from the temple, witnessed the skirmishes during the election.