Milpitas Hindu Temple Burglarized as DA Charges Man in South Bay Places of Worship Crime Spree
The Shirdi Sai Parivaar Temple in Milpitas was burglarized in the early morning hours of September 25, 2025, with intruders breaking through a side lobby door, seizing the community's donation hundi from the main hall, and stealing sacred jewelry from the Chavdi. For the local Hindu community, the intrusion was more than a property crime — it was a violation of sacred space. The incident forms part of a broader wave of South Bay burglaries targeting houses of worship, culminating in the arrest and prosecution of a San Jose man charged by the Santa Clara County District Attorney with stealing more than $50,000 from churches and temples across the region.
🪔 Shirdi Sai Parivaar Temple Break-In Leaves Milpitas Hindu Community Heartbroken
The Shirdi Sai Parivaar Temple in Milpitas became the latest South Bay house of worship to be targeted by thieves when intruders broke in during the early morning hours of September 25, 2025, between 5:30 and 5:40 a.m. The burglars forced entry through a side lobby door before making their way into the main hall, where they forcibly removed the center donation hundi — the sacred collection vessel that holds offerings from devotees, including donations gathered during recent celebrations. In addition to the hundi, the thieves stole jewelry from the Chavdi, items considered especially sacred by worshippers. CCTV cameras captured the suspects in the act, and the footage was turned over to the Milpitas Police Department, which launched an investigation. Temple officials expressed grief that went far beyond financial loss. A temple spokesperson told Diya TV: 'We don't know how much cash is lost. Our hundi is gone, completely taken away. It's very sentimental for all of us. More than money, we are heartbroken that someone entered the temple and stepped onto the podium.' Temple volunteers and community members gathered in the aftermath to support one another and rally around the institution. The break-in fits a troubling pattern documented across California: incidents targeting Hindu temples have been reported in Santa Clara, Fremont, Newark, Sacramento, and in Indiana over the past two years. Community leaders are calling for stronger security measures and formal recognition from authorities of what they describe as an escalating wave of targeted crimes against South Asian places of worship. [5]
DA Charges San Jose Man in $50,000 South Bay Temple and Church Burglary Spree
The Milpitas temple break-in is part of a broader criminal pattern that Santa Clara County prosecutors are actively pursuing. The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office has charged Jaime Gutierrez Flores, a 33-year-old San Jose man, with breaking into at least eight South Bay churches and temples between December and February, allegedly stealing more than $50,000 in donations from sacred collection boxes. Flores was arrested at a San Jose church during what prosecutors allege was yet another burglary attempt, and is currently being held on $1 million bail. According to prosecutors, Flores and an accomplice targeted a Hindu temple in Sunnyvale on three separate occasions, stealing more than $45,000 from donation boxes in those incidents alone. In one alarming episode, Flores allegedly steered a stolen car toward a police officer as he and an accomplice attempted to flee in another stolen vehicle. District Attorney Jeff Rosen issued a statement emphasizing the gravity of the offenses: 'Our schools, our homes, our places of worship, are special and sacred places, and when they are invaded by criminals it feels as though our whole community has been violated. Our office will hold this criminal, and anyone who acted with him, fully responsible to the law.' The DA's aggressive prosecution has been welcomed by leaders of the South Bay's South Asian community, who have long called for authorities to treat attacks on Hindu temples and other religious institutions with the same seriousness accorded to other targeted crimes against houses of worship. Police have also urged nearby places of worship to review their security protocols in light of the ongoing investigation. [7]