[UPDATED] Bandits steal music equipment, cooking gas, water from Hindu temple

GREGORY MCBURNIE

Bandits broke into a Hindu temple in D'Abadie sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning and stole bottled water, music equipment, cash and several gas tanks.

Caretakers at the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) Maha Vishnu Mandir on Mausica Road, D'Abadie, discovered the break-in at around 6 am on Monday when they arrived to light deyas at the temple.

The bandits got in by climbing through a one-foot-wide gap at the side of the building between the roof and a barbed wire fence.

They broke the lock on the kitchen door to enter the temple and ransacked the storage rooms.

The caretaker said five cases of bottled water were stolen from a small bedroom at the back of the temple and the bandits also made off with three full tanks of LPG cooking gas from the storage room.

The bandits put chairs below the speakers, which were mounted on the wall, to take them down and disconnect the wires before taking the entire music system, including several microphones and a mixing board.

They also broke open two donation boxes. One member said the boxes contained no more than $400.

“They have to be wicked. How could you come in a religious place and do something like this? It doesn’t matter what religion it is, you are not supposed to do something like that.”

This is the second time the temple has been broken into in almost ten years.

“This is a shock to everybody. We had a similar incident years ago but this is a shock to all the members. We weren’t expecting this at all.”

The members are said to be upset and plan to meet to discuss how security measures could be ramped up.

One member said he has accepted that situations such as this are becoming more commonplace nowadays, adding that members can only focus on addressing the security shortfalls.

“There are no cameras, but there are lights and they are on whole night.
"It has already happened so you can’t do anything about it now. We just have to ensure all the gates are closed (until the security upgrades are completed).”

The members also lamented the slow response of the police.

Speaking with Newsday at 3 pm on Monday, one member said police had still not arrived.

“I called the Arima police station and they said they got a report so somebody will deal with it and they will come shortly. They said that since half past six this morning.”

This complaint comes on the heels of a comment by Senator Deoroop Teemal, who accused the police of not taking attacks on Hindu temples seriously.

There have been at least five acts of vandalism or theft against Hindu religious houses within the last year.

In the most recent incidents, stones were thrown at the Pranavananda Ashram at Temple Street off Beaucarro Road in Freeport, damaging several worshippers' vehicles, and an effigy of a Hindu demon was burnt by vandals in Tarouba.

During the budget debate in the Upper House last Tuesday, Teemal said victims don’t believe the police are treating the incidents with the necessary seriousness.

He said, “Reports have been made to the police and reports have been taken. But from what I gather by interacting with those...who use these facilities...they think the police are being dismissive of these incidents.”

Newsday asked the police Communications Department for a response to the claims and the perception that reports of this nature are not being taken seriously.

No response was received on this particular incident, but Newsday was referred to comments on the issue in last week’s TTPS press briefing, when public information officer Michelle Lewis said all reports of this nature were taken seriously.

This story has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

Bandits broke into a Hindu temple in D'Abadie sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning and stole bottled water, music equipment, cash and tanks of gas.

Caretakers at the SDMS D'Abadie Maha Vishnu Mandir on Mausica Road discovered the break-in when they turned up on Monday morning to light deyas at the temple.

It is believed the bandits entered by climbing through a one-foot-wide gap at the side of the building between the roof and a barbed-wire fence.

They then broke the lock on the door to get inside and ransacked the storage rooms.

They stole microphones, a mixing board, five cases of bottled water, three tanks of cooking gas and money from two donation boxes.