Breaking News! Vijay’s Sherawali Temple in Hayward Defaced With Pro-Khalistani Graffiti

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On January 4, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) revealed on social media that Vijay’s Sherawali Temple  in Hayward has been defaced with anti-PM Modi and pro-Khalistani graffiti. In a picture posted on X, the graffiti is seen scrawled across the temple board. 

The Vijay Sherawali temple was founded in 2002 in South San Francisco and moved to its new location in Hayward 2021. Also known as the East Bay Hindu Community and Cultural Center, it houses idols of Ganesha, Durga, Shiva and Hanuman, serving all segments of the Hindu community. The temple also conducts religious discourses and celebrations of festivals. 

This act of vandalism comes on the heels of a similar incident in which the walls of the Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Newark were defaced with graffiti on December 22, 2023. While the Newark Police Department is investigating that incident, Vijay’s Sherawali temple falls under the jurisdiction of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. 

The Timeline 

While the HAF posted about the incident on January 4, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office received a call about the incident for the first time on December 23, followed by calls on December 25 and January 1. 

According to Press Information Officer Captain T. Modeste, when the first two calls came in on the 23rd and 25th December, deputies were delayed in getting to the temple as they were occupied with other crimes in progress. On both occasions, by the time they reached the temple, there was no one at the scene and thus, the police could not record an official statement. 

“Because it is a property crime, and not a crime in progress right now, it gets a lower priority than crimes that are in progress,” said Modeste, explaining why the officers were delayed in getting to the scene of the vandalism after the first two calls. 

However, a third call came in on January 1, and before the deputies could reach the temple, they received another call from the same caller canceling the previous call for service. Thus, on all three occasions, the deputies were not able to establish contact with the caller to record an official statement or complaint. 

Ramya Ramakrishnan, Community Outreach Director for the HAF said that they first found out about the incident on January 4, when a community leader reached out to them. Since then, she has been in contact with the temple management as well as the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. 

Hate Crime?

The HAF is also involved with the investigation of the vandalism at Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Newark, which is now being investigated as a hate crime. Given that this is the second act of vandalism at a Hindu place of worship in the space of a few days, Ramakrishnan believes the police should have been more proactive in responding to the incident at Vijay’s Sherawali temple.

“Given that a very similar hate crime has occurred close by, it is their responsibility to investigate this as a hate crime and not wait around for someone to be there physically,” she said. “We (HAF) will be meeting with law enforcement agencies to discuss this issue further in the coming week.”

While Ramakrishnan is disappointed that the police did not act on this sooner, Modeste maintains that the Sheriff’s Office was following protocol. 

“In order to investigate any crime, we need to work with the complainant or the victim to get an official statement,” she said. “We cannot investigate it as a hate crime without conducting a preliminary investigation and speaking to the complainant first.” 

Modeste also said that the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department acknowledges and appreciates that the Hindu community is hurting, and that all the necessary steps will be taken to ensure a thorough investigation.

An investigator has now been assigned to the case, and they will be meeting with the complainant on Tuesday to begin the investigation. 

This story was originally published on January 5, and has been updates since.

This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.