In the early hours of April 16th, the Festival of Ram Navami, ISKCON’s Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha Mandira in Longdenville, Trinidad and Tobago, was robbed by four armed bandits brandishing a gun, crowbar and machete. During the robbery, two devotees were beaten, one of whom was 71-year-old Devendranuja Dasa, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, who sustained serious injuries to his head and ribs requiring hospitalization at Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope. Devotees are asked for their prayers, as he is still recovering. This was the second robbery of the Temple, the first having occurred in 2018.

Some of the damage caused during the robbery.

According to Pancha Tattva Devi Dasi, the Temple President, the thieves broke into the temple’s vault, emptied the temple’s donation box, and robbed the resident devotees of their belongings. During the assault, the masked thieves tied up the five male devotees. One of the devotees was Agnideva Dasa, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, who was visiting the Temple, and another was Kavi-Karnipura Dasa from the UK, who had been serving there for five months. The robbery was reported to police, but no suspects have been held as of this report.

While this incident has left devotees shaken, they are committed to their ongoing service there, “In spite of this frightening event, we will continue to do our part in fulfilling Lord Chaitanya’s promise that the Holy Names will be heard in every town and village throughout the world.”

Trinidad and Tobago is a twin-island country located off the northern edge of South America with the Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha Mandira Temple being the largest ISKCON Temple in Trinidad. There are two other temples and a preaching center. One of the Temples is Madhuvan Farm, which recently held a Ratha Yatra on April 13th. The devotees of the Longdenville Temple will be celebrating their Ratha Yatra in the capital city of Port of Spain on Friday June 14th.

If you would like to make a donation to the Temple, please contact Panca Tattva Devi Dasi via  email  or +1 868 743 9911. To follow the ongoing service of devotees in Trinidad and Tobago, please visit their Facebook pages  here and here.