Police in Ontario have charged an Indo-Canadian man from Brampton for stealing money from temple donation boxes in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).  Peel police have arrested Jagdish Pandher, 41, following a series of commercial break and enter incidents across Peel Region. In a news release Monday, police say they investigated five separate occurrences between March and August of last year. 

By DESIBUZZCanada Staff

TORONTO – Police in Ontario have charged an Indo-Canadian man from Brampton for stealing money from temple donation boxes in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

 Peel police have arrested Jagdish Pandher, 41, following a series of commercial break and enter incidents across Peel Region. 

In a news release Monday, police say they investigated five separate occurrences between March and August of last year. 

Of the five commercial locations, three of the burglaries were at “places of worship,” specifically at temples where the accused Pandher was captured on camera allegedly stealing money from donation boxes, police said. 

Police say the other two incidents involved the man taking money from two other commercial locations. 

Peel police investigated the incidents in co-operation with other police departments in the GTA and have arrested the suspect, a 41-year-old man. 

The man, who was already in custody for other similar offences, is now facing five counts of breaking and entering. 

Police say the other two burglaries were at “commercial locations” where money was also stolen.

Investigators add that while some of these offences happened at places of worship, they are “confident that these were crimes of opportunity to steal cash and not motivated by hate.”

But the accused was previously charged in a similar rash of break-ins back in 2022, police say.

Pandher was hit with 13 charges in March 2022 following over a dozen break-and-enters at temples and other places of worship in the Malton area of Mississauga and Brampton.

In those earlier robberies police, say three men from Brampton gained access into buildings before taking cash from donation boxes.

Anyone with information on these incidents is asked to call Peel Regional Police at 905-453–2121. You can also contact Peel Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or by visiting www.peelcrimestoppers.ca.