Toronto: The Peel police in Toronto, Canada, have arrested three Canada based Punjabi men responsible for the series of break-ins, vandalism and theft that have been happening in Hindu temples in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) from November 2021 until March 2022. The fourth suspect is still at large.
The arrested accused have been identified as Jagdish Pandher, a 39-year-old man from Brampton, Gursharnjeet Dhindsa, a 31-year-old man from Brampton and Parminder Gill, a 42-year-old man from Brampton. They have been slapped with as many as 78 charges including Disguise with intent (13 counts each) and Break, enter and commit an indictable offence (13 counts each).
There had been a series of attacks on Hindu temples in the Greater Toronto Area in a span of two weeks. Six temples had been vandalised in ten days. In addition, the attackers have stolen cash from donation boxes and ornaments that were adorned on the stolen idols. The incident had happened amidst the truckers’ protest in Canada.
Meanwhile, the accused have been charged for the loot and vandalism that occurred in nine Hindu temples, two Jain temples and two Gurdwaras in Peel Region which include Maa Chintpurni Mandir and Shri Gauri Shankar Mandir in Brampton as well as the Hindu Heritage Centre in Mississauga and the Hamilton Samaj Temple between November 2021 and March 2022.
These incidents started in November last year when the first break-ins happened at the Hindu Sabha Temple and Shri Jagannath temple, both in Brampton.
The spate of these attacks on Hindu temples increased with a failed attempt of a break-in at the Shri Hanuman Mandir in Brampton, Ontario on January 15, 2022. Unfazed, the criminals have been on the loose ever since.
According to the report, in a span of the next ten days, the miscreants vandalised and burgled nearly half a dozen temples in the vicinity. They broke in into the worship places, vandalised, stole cash from donation boxes and even ornaments adorning idols.
Another temple in Brampton, the Maa Chintpurni Mandir, was broken into on January 25, followed by a series of similar incidents at the Gauri Shankar Mandir as well as the Hindu Heritage Centre in Mississauga.
The management committee of Maa Chintpurni Mandir and Shri Gauri Shankar Mandir in Brampton confirmed that more than $30,000 cash was stolen from these two mandirs.
Hindu Heritage Centre in Mississauga, Canada had also taken to its official social media page to share the news on February 9, 2022.
“Devotees and priests have been left traumatised with this incident,” the Hindu Heritage Centre had said in a statement released after the incident.
On January 30, two persons created a hole in the wall to enter the Hindu Heritage Centre (HHC) in Mississauga. The miscreants rummaged through donation boxes and stole the cash. Multiple statues of Hindu gods and goddesses were broken. The centre’s office and gift shop were ransacked as well.
CCTV footage showed masked men wearing winter gear and carrying backpacks entering the temples. They appeared to spend a significant amount of time examining the temple premises for cash in donation boxes or other valuables such as jewellery adorning the deities. The loot was carried out mostly in the wee hours of the day.
The centre had reported the incident to Peel Regional Police, which in turn said in a release issued on February 11 that the 21 Division Criminal Investigation Bureau is investigating 10 breaks and enters that occurred at multiple places of worship across Peel since November 2021.
Meanwhile, all three arrested Punjabi men had been presented at the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton for a bail hearing on March 4, 2022.
The police said that they are continuing their hunt for the known fourth suspect. According to them, there is no evidence, as of now, that these crimes were motivated by hatred, and they appear to be purely theft-related acts. However, as the investigation continues, all conceivable motives will be investigated, they said.