Hindu temples are under siege after more than a dozen religious organisations in the Chatsworth area, have been targeted and robbed by suspected ‘sugar boys’, who are allegedly linked directly to scrap yard dealers.

The South African Hindu Maha Sabha president, Ashwin Trikamjee, condemns such acts, branding them as immoral crimes.

“Devotees are upset and astonished at the fact that temples are being targeted at such a rate. More focus needs to be placed on the drug scourge, as well as the scrap dealers, who buy sacred items from them,” said Trikamjee.

The Sri Sathya Sai Sudha Mandir was subject to a brace of robberies over the past week. Groundskeeper, Lawrence Naicker, who has resided on the property for the past 18 years, believes that the suspects made their way onto a ledge, which leads to the inner temple yard.

“I was downstairs when I heard some unusual noises, so I went to investigate and eventually discovered two unknown men, attempting to cut the copper pipes, which led to a fire hose with an axe. I shouted, ‘What are you doing?’ to which he responded by running towards me with the axe, screaming that he is going to kill me.”

Luckily, however, Naicker managed to safely evade the suspects, locking himself in a room with his family, and alerting the security company about the incident, with the suspects fleeing the scene before security arrived. The following day, Naicker, a cardiac patient, went on break to take medication.

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When he returned to the temple grounds, he noticed that a window of the temple’s hall, was broken into. Chairperson of the temple, Dhanpal Naidoo, stated that in this incident, the suspects made off with two lamp sets, in addition to five grocery hampers, donated by devotees for the underprivileged.

Naidoo stated, “The lamps, which were stolen, last Monday, were purchased recently following a previous break-in earlier this month, where criminals stole a great deal of brassware from the temple’ s grounds. We are obviously being targeted.”

Two days after this incident, the Westcliff-based Chatsworth Magazine Barracks Sri Vishnu Temple, was broken into by unknown perpetrators. Chairperson, Henry Solai, stated that on the morning in question, he received a call from a devotee informing him about the incident.

Solai stated, “Upon our visitation to the temple, we noticed that the gates to the vacant priest quarters were open, leading us to believe that there was forced entry. A sliding window was removed, providing access to the hall, where the alarm system was unconventionally disarmed. Among the stolen items were a stainless steel table, plastic folding tables, 150 plastic chairs, and an aluminium door.”

The stainless steel table was retrieved from an illegal scrap dealer, following a tip-off by one of the devotees, who provided a vague description of the suspect. In a previous case, the temple bore the brunt of a copper piping theft, which led to major water losses incurring a substantial water bill.

The public relations officer of the Devasthanam Foundation of South Africa (Association of South Indian Temples), Thanigasalan Moodley, commented that the organisation has been overwhelmed with reports from temples across Chatsworth, complaining of break-ins and stolen goods.

“As of late, there has been an increasing concern regarding the brass temple deities, which are being stolen. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the problem, as temples are heeding government’s call to avoid gatherings. This has left temples deserted and isolated, with significantly less funding,” Moodley said.

The Devasthanam has embarked on high level discussions with the SAPS where the organisation has explained the plight of the temples, with a special focus being on the illegal and unscrupulous scrap metal dealers, who allegedly purchase stolen artefacts.

In addition to this, the maha sabha is once again offering a reward of R10, 000 to anyone with information regarding the stolen items, with this amount even being subject to an increase depending on the information. To donate to the cause of the Chatsworth Magazine Barracks Sri Vishnu Temple, contact chairperson, Henry Solai, on 074-305-3892.

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