Toronto: A Jagannath Temple was among half a dozen places of worship which have been vandalised and burgled over the past fortnight in Canada’s Toronto, leaving priests and devotees in a state of shock and fear.
Miscreants stole cash from donation boxes and ornaments adorning idols, Hindustan Times reported.
The first attempt to break in was made at Shri Hanuman Mandir in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) town of Brampton on January 15. The culprits didn’t succeed that day, but went on a rampage thereafter.
There were break-ins at another temple in Brampton — Maa Chintpurni Mandir – followed by Gauri Shankar Mandir, Jagannath Temple and Hamilton Samaj Temple.
The miscreants didn’t spare the Hindu Heritage Centre (HHC) also.
The ransacking of Hindu Heritage Centre (HHC) main office and donation boxes was carried out by two persons on January 30.
“Devotees and priests have been left traumatised by this incident,” an HHC release said.
“Police have confirmed to Hindu Heritage Centre that it is the same group of individuals who are breaking into temples early morning,” it added.
According to security camera images shared with HT, every ‘attack’ involved two people and took place between 2 am and 3 am. Masked people in winter gear were seen entering the temples with a backpack, and were inside the premises for quite some time.
“Police have also promised to increase patrols around the temple. The community is very shocked and appalled with the high number of break-ins at temples,” HHC said.
Pandit Yadu Nath Sharma, a priest at the temple, said he felt scared when preparing for early morning prayer. “I keep looking around to make sure no one is there. I turn on all the lights and make sure to look out the windows before opening the temple,” he confessed.
