00:00They are rejoicing now, but their place of worship and community activity recently suffered losses because of a series of
00:07thefts.
00:08The Kampu Shiva Mandir in Kunupia was a target by thieves who made off with thousands of dollars in equipment.
00:15The items were purchased over several months to support the temple's Ramlila productions and other community activities.
00:22Pundit Shiva Maharaj says the theft was only discovered recently after members noticed several items missing from inside the Mandir.
00:30A subsequent inventory revealed that far more equipment was stolen.
00:35Members also discovered what they believe was an entry point at the back of the Mandir, suggesting the property may
00:41have been accessed over a period of time, while much of the temple's attention was focused on Ramlila's activities.
00:48Mostly a lot of power tools that we would have bought, including some power washers, a gas one and an
00:54electric one.
00:55A lot of power tools in terms of, because we make our own props and so on.
00:58So we had a lot of power tools that we would have used to create the props.
01:03We realized that there was an entrance from the back of the Mandir and this is how they were getting
01:09in and taking things over a period of time since the Ramlila that we had.
01:15Members have since secured the back of the property, installing Buglila proof gate to prevent further access.
01:21But with much of the equipment now gone, the temple is appealing to members of the community for assistance as
01:27they work to replace the stolen items and resume its activities.
01:31We try to keep the youths. If anyone come to our Ramlila and so on, they will see how many
01:36youths we have involved.
01:38And this is, this is part of what we do to keep them involved. They make their own props. They
01:43do all the players, everything themselves.
01:45So we urge anyone who would like to assist us to get back on our feet, to regain some of
01:50the equipments and tools that we would have lost.
01:53We invite anyone who would like to help.
01:55Charlotte Histo, TV6 News.
