Milpitas Hindu Temple Burglarized as South Bay Worship Sites Face Surge in Break-Ins
In the early hours of September 25, intruders forced open a side lobby door at the Shirdi Sai Parivaar Temple in Milpitas, making off with the center donation hundi and sacred jewelry from the Chavdi and leaving the Hindu community heartbroken. The break-in fits a wider pattern of attacks on Hindu temples across California and the nation that community leaders say demands federal attention. Separately, the Santa Clara County District Attorney has charged a San Jose man with stealing more than $50,000 from at least eight South Bay houses of worship, including repeated raids on a Hindu temple in Sunnyvale.
🤝 Shirdi Sai Parivaar Temple Burglarized Before Dawn
The Shirdi Sai Parivaar Temple in Milpitas was burglarized on September 25, 2025, between 5:30 and 5:40 in the morning, when intruders forced open a side lobby door and made their way into the main hall. Once inside, they forcibly removed the center donation hundi, which held cash offerings gathered from recent celebrations, and also stole jewelry from the Chavdi, items that hold deep sacred significance for devotees. A temple spokesperson told Diya TV that the community was devastated, not primarily over the monetary loss but because someone had entered the temple and stepped onto the podium, crossing a boundary that felt profoundly violating. CCTV footage recorded the suspects throughout the incident, and the footage has been turned over to Milpitas police, who are actively investigating the case. Temple leaders placed the break-in within a wider and troubling national pattern targeting Hindu temples, citing prior incidents in Santa Clara, Fremont, Newark, Sacramento, and Indiana over the two years preceding the Milpitas burglary. Community leaders have responded by calling for stronger security protocols at Hindu institutions and urging federal recognition of what they describe as an escalating threat. Law enforcement also encouraged nearby religious institutions to review and reinforce their own security measures, while the broader Hindu community mobilized in support of the temple as it begins to recover from the loss. [3]
DA Charges San Jose Man in String of South Bay Temple and Church Thefts
The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office has charged Jaime Gutierrez Flores, 33, a San Jose man, with breaking into at least eight religious institutions across the South Bay between December and February and stealing more than $50,000 in combined donations. Prosecutors allege that Flores, working with at least one accomplice, targeted a Hindu temple in Sunnyvale on three separate occasions, removing more than $45,000 in cash from donation boxes during those visits alone. One incident escalated to a dangerous confrontation with police when Flores allegedly steered a stolen car directly toward an officer as the pair attempted to flee in a separate stolen vehicle. He was ultimately arrested at a San Jose church at the conclusion of what prosecutors describe as the final crime in the series of break-ins, and is being held on $1 million bail. District Attorney Jeff Rosen said publicly that schools, homes, and places of worship are special and sacred spaces, and that when they are invaded by criminals the entire community feels violated. He added that his office would hold Flores, and anyone who acted with him, fully responsible under the law. The prosecution has intensified scrutiny of donation-box security systems at religious sites throughout the region, and law enforcement has urged congregations to evaluate and strengthen their physical security arrangements. [5]