UNITED KINGDOM, May 29, 2012 (Your Local Guardian): Bailiffs executed a dawn raid on a Hindu temple, evicting priests and seizing its sacred contents in a move which has outraged the Hindu community. Backed up by the police, they moved in on the Sivayogam temple in Hebdon Road, Tooting, at 5 am last Tuesday, May 22, following a protracted legal dispute with owner Barrowfen Properties Ltd which has plans to turn it into a Travelodge.
Eleven priests sleeping in the art deco building were evicted and the building sealed, preventing worshippers from entering or removing 16 gold and gem encrusted statues of Gods believed to be worth around US$156,000.
Following pressure from the Hindu community and others such as the local MP Sadiq Khan, the High Court ruled on Monday that the temple trustees should be allowed back into the building for one day to remove their possessions.
The court had earlier granted legal possession of the building to Barrowfen and ordered the temple trustees to pay them US$281,500 in rent arrears dating back to 2008. The temple trustees who have been based in the building for 16 years continue to dispute this debt.
This morning they were at the temple accompanied by police officers and their solicitors to collect their belongings and ensure that nothing has been damaged.
Founder and spiritual leader of the temple Nagendram Seevaratnam, 74, said: “I roundly condemn the sacrilegious conduct of the enforcement officers and police in gaining forceful and blasphemous entry into the temple.” But Barrowfen said the order was enforced with sensitivity to ensure the Deities were not touched, with the police there to make sure it was carried out peacefully.
A spokesperson for the Hindu Council UK said: “A temple is a community centre. Obviously demolition of it will be distressing to community life. “The trustees should have made an application for a restraining order and appealed the decision to the High Court. We are looking into and doing our collective thinking on this.” The temple is now in the process of relocating to a site in Lion Road, Mitcham.