Hindu community in Canada concerned as two more temple break-ins reported

At least two more burglaries at temples in Canada’s Greater Toronto Area last week have left the Hindu community concerned over their security and frustrated by the lack of progress in the investigations into what appear to be a string of break-ins, thefts and vandalisations specifically targeting Hindu places of worship.

The Bharat Mata Mandir in Brampton was burgled on Thursday night, with the thieves escaping with the collections in the donation boxes. “Temples, one by one, are being targeted. These serial attacks can be an attempt to spread fear. This has to be properly investigated,” temple priest Keshab Koirala said, confirming the incident.

This occurred a night after an unsuccessful break-in at the Ram Mandir in Mississauga, in which the perpetrators seem to have fled after a security alarm went off.

These two follow at least half-dozen similar incidents that were reported in the month of January and come even as the Peel regional police and the Hamilton police service actively investigate the burglaries.

The incidents that appear to intentionally target Hindu temples started on January 15, with an unsuccessful attempted break-in at the Shri Hanuman Mandir in Brampton.

On January 25, another temple in Brampton, the Maa Chintpurni Mandir, was broken into, with a series of similar episodes being reported in the days following at the Gauri Shankar Mandir and Jagannath Temple, both in Brampton, as well as the Hindu Heritage Centre in Mississauga and the Hamilton Samaj Temple.

At the Hindu Heritage Centre in Mississauga, the break-in occurred on January 30. Two individuals broke in and rummaged through donation boxes and ransacked the main office.

“Devotees and priests have been left traumatised with this incident,” the temple said in a statement.

Each of these break-ins appear to involve two people and take place in the early hours.

“The targeting of so many temples in such a short time period is unprecedented in Canadian history. Right now, there is a growing insecurity in the community as people still wonder why so many temples are being deliberately targeted. Community members are finding it even more shocking that the perpetrators have not been caught,” Kushagr Sharma, who is associated with the Hindu Heritage Centre, and is vice-president of the Canadian Hindu Chamber of Commerce, said.