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Recognize Them? Women Enter Hindu Priest's Mahwah Home While Young Daughter Is There

Authorities were searching for two uninvited strangers who reportedly entered the home of a Hindu priest in Mahwah but were scared off.

Pandit Devendra Shukla was at the Samaj Temple and his wife and daughter at their West Ramapo Avenue home nearby when a black SUV parked out front this past weekend.

A Ring doorbell camera shows a woman in a COVID mask walking up to the front door, knocking hard twice, then peering into a window.

The woman then heads back to the car and returns with a second woman.

The second one, also wearing a mask with a large scarf wrapped around her head and neck, pulls a cloth glove onto her left hand and tries the door as her companion walks around the side of the house. The door appeared locked.

The woman then heads around the same side of the house, presumably to join her companion.

Theyโ€™re not seen again.

Mahwah Police Chief Timothy Oโ€™Hara said his detectives are actively working the case.

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๐—”๐—ก๐—ฌ๐—ข๐—ก๐—˜ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ผ ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ผ ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฝ ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ถ๐—ณ๐˜† ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ/๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ฟ ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ต๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ต ๐—ฃ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐——๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜: (๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿญ) ๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿต-๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฌ.

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The women entered an area of the house thatโ€™s being renovated through a side door, a temple volunteer said on Tuesday, Feb. 20.

They fled without taking anything, he said, apparently after hearing the priestโ€™s wife heading to the stairway upstairs.

It was yet another test of Shuklaโ€™s faith, which has buoyed him through a horrific series of ordeals.

Shukla came to America from India with the promise of $500 a week and free room and board to be a priest at a temple in Corona, Queens.

He ended up forced to live in a tiny room and working as much as 18 hours a day doing menial work in addition to his priestly duties.

Shuklaโ€™s passport was also taken from him and he was repeatedly threatened with likely deportation, authorities said.

Shukla fled the church with help from congregants who learned of his plight. He moved his family to Mahwah about 16 years ago.

His troubles didnโ€™t end there.

The priestโ€™s daughter was only 6 and sitting in the back seat of her fatherโ€™s car when a neighbor attacked Shukla at the Interstate Shopping Center off Route 17 in Ramsey five years ago.

Shukla told police he was driving through the parking lot when the man ran up, screamed and called him a โ€œdirty Indian,โ€ then punched him in the face, authorities said at the time.

The girl was shaken again this past Sunday when the two strangers entered the familyโ€™s home.

โ€œSheโ€™s scared to be alone in the house or go to any part of the house by herself,โ€ the temple volunteer told Daily Voice.

๐—”๐—ก๐—ฌ๐—ข๐—ก๐—˜ who might have seen something or has security video or information that could help identify the women and/or their vehicle is asked to call the Mahwah Police Department: (๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿญ) ๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿต-๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฌ.

Hindu Samaj Temple (Mahwah)

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