GURDWARA TARGETED: Brazen robbery of Sikh temple disturbs community

SHANE KOKA
VANCOUVER DESI

A Sikh temple, or gurdwara, is a place of peaceful worship. A place synonymous with community support, giving back, and faith. However that peace was violently disrupted this past weekend in Livingston, Calif., a city where Sikhs compromise 20 per cent of the population, one of the largest in the United States, when five men staged an armed robbery of the local gurdwara.

According to Police Chief Ruben Chavez, three men entered the temple at 1:50 a.m., their faces concealed by hoodies, one armed with a gun, another with a knife. As one woman prayed, the men motioned to her, covering their pursed lips with a single finger as a chilling reminder to remain quiet. The thieves quickly made their move to the donation box, absconding with a few thousand dollars, before meeting two other accomplices outside and fleeing the scene.

Although the donation box had been stolen before, this is the first time thieves have entered the temple itself to loot it. Security cameras were installed recently, in response to the tragedy in Oak Creek, Wisc., which could provide some key evidence against the suspects. Since the thieves knew exactly where to go, Chavez suggests that this was likely done by someone very familiar with the gurdwara.

Temple leaders expressed relief that everyone was safe and resiliently decided to stay open to serve the community at large:

“I think the members who were here inside the church, if they reacted to it, it could have wound up like Wisconsin,” Temple Vice President Narinder Dola said. “So I think they did the smart move, they didn’t do anything, they just kept quiet.”

Temple President Rajinder Takhar agreed that the situation could have been a lot worse.  ”It’s a place of worship,” Takhar said. “This is where we come and worship. We donate the money here, we don’t steal from here.”

via Merced Sun-Star, Sikhism.About