Two sought for Hindu temple burglary in Texas

The only place for local Hindus to worship and find peace and community.Sunkari said they notified community members at a gathering Sunday, sharing the leaders sentiment for more security.

A Hindu temple in the US state of Texas has been burgled and police are looking out for two suspects who allegedly stole a donation box and a safe worth thousands of dollars.

The incident took place on January 11, when the Hindu Society of the Brazos Valley's Shri Omkarnath Temple in Texas was raided by burglars, and thousands of dollars in cash and property were taken.

The Brazos County Sheriff's Office, which has been investigating the burglary, put up a screengrab of the suspects' video on January 20, shared by the temple, and requested people with information regarding the two individuals to inform the police.

Brazos County Sheriff's deputy, David Wilcox, said these types of crimes do not usually take place in places of worship.

''Investigators do not believe this was a hate crime based on religious reasons," Wilcox said.

On the day of the burglary, surveillance cameras showed two individuals outside the Hindu temple at 3 a.m., who allegedly stole a donation box and a safe worth thousands of dollars.

"There was a sense of invasion, that sense of loss of privacy when something like this happened to us," Srinivasa Sunkari, a board member for the Brazos Valley Temple said.

"They broke in through the side window, and we found our donation box and a safe in which we keep our valuables missing," he added.

This is the only Hindu temple in the Brazos Valley. The only place for local Hindus to worship and find peace and community.

Sunkari said they notified community members at a gathering Sunday, sharing the leaders' sentiment for more security. But he says the group won't let this incident keep them from their commitment.

A video captured by security cameras inside the temple shows a person ignoring the shrine and going straight to the donation box. The suspect then used the temple's cart to wheel it out the door.

"The priest and his family who live in an apartment right behind the temple are safe," Sunkari said, expressing relief that the burglars did not attack them.

Meanwhile, the temple has also upped its security following this burglary.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)