Gangs of predominantly Pakistani men have been grooming British Sikh girls for decades, according to claims in a bombshell report.

The study alleges that young Sikh women have been ‘targeted’ by Muslim men who subjected them to sexual abuse.

The report by the Sikh Mediation and Rehabilitation Team charity found that police ‘recklessly ignored’ complaints – often for reasons of ‘political correctness’.

Described as an exploratory study, it looks at reported cases of abuse against Sikh girls – of Indian background – dating back to the 1970s [File photo]

In many cases, according to the report, the men would groom a girl before passing her round to other members of their family.

The girls would be snared by ‘fashionably dressed adult Pakistani men travelling in flamboyant vehicles to predominantly Sikh dominated areas and schools’, it claimed.

The report said that while the revelation of grooming gangs targeting white girls in Rochdale shocked the nation in 2012, similar instances had long been taking place under the radar in Britain’s Sikh communities.

Sikh community leaders say the problem started in the 1960s. The charity said the report was not a ‘witch-hunt against any individual, community, culture or faith’ – but said nothing would change unless the facts were known.

Last night Labour MP Sarah Champion demanded an investigation. The girls would be snared by ‘fashionably dressed adult Pakistani men travelling in flamboyant vehicles to predominantly Sikh dominated areas and schools’, it claimed [File photo]

Last night Labour MP Sarah Champion demanded an investigation. She said: ‘I was shocked when I first heard about the organised abuse of Sikh girls by mostly Pakistani men.

‘When I started speaking to Sikh women, I could not believe how widespread the grooming and abuse was – and that this has been going on for decades. We need to speak of the abuse of Sikh girls to take it out of the shadows and make sure the authorities take it seriously. ‘

The Rotherham MP added: ‘There needs to be a full investigation into the systematic abuse of Sikh girls.’

Sikh community leaders say the problem started in the 1960s. The charity said the report was not a ‘witch-hunt against any individual, community, culture or faith’ – but said nothing would change unless the facts were known [File photo]

The Daily Mail has seen a copy of the report, entitled The Religiously Aggravated Sexual Exploitation of Young Sikh Women Across the UK.

Described as an exploratory study, it looks at reported cases of abuse against Sikh girls – of Indian background – dating back to the 1970s.

The report said: ‘The research has found verification demonstrating a history of predominantly Pakistani grooming gangs targeting young Sikh females for over 50 years.

‘The over representation of such perpetrators in selecting non-Muslim victims would appear to be indicative of a wider acceptability in certain sections of the community towards the targeting of young females from outside of the Pakistani community and/or Muslim faith.

‘Due to the failures of law enforcement agencies and local authorities in addressing the problem, such networks have continued to flourish.’

The study included a case in 1971 when an 11-year-old was jailed for imprisoning a Sikh girl in Slough.

In other reports in the 1980s, Sikhs were complaining about Muslims ‘pestering’ their girls or that their girls were being ‘used as sex slaves’.

Gangs of predominantly Pakistani men have been grooming British Sikh girls for decades, according to claims in a bombshell report [File photo]

An organisation, Shere Punjab, was formed in 1989 to combat attacks on young Sikh women by Muslims.

There was controversy in 2008 about a website ‘which appears to be run by young male Muslims and boasts about seducing Sikh women during freshers week at university’.

And in 2013 a case about six men who targeted, abused and exploited a young Sikh girl in Leicester reached the courts.