Swindon Hindu Temple looted [ Wiltshire, United Kingdom ]

[ Reported as seen ]

At around 9 P.M., on 26 January, 2022, Swindon Hindu Temple and Cultural Centre was looted by unknown miscreants. Chairman of the Temple Pradeep Bhardwaj and community members believe it is a targeted religious hate crime. The police treated the hate-crime merely as another case of ‘burglary’.

Mr Bhardwaj said electrical audio equipment and “lots of the religious artifacts” were damaged with copper wiring and other items reported to be stolen. He explained that statues from upstairs were found thrown on the ground downstairs, with every room in the temple area “turned upside down”.

The main statues of deities had been moved out of the temple when the council revoked the lease, but a lot of property belonging to the Hindu community was still inside.