Washington: A Hindu priest and four families have been evicted from a temple by a Virginia-based lending firm which claimed that they had defaulted on a loan.
Hundreds of supporters had signed a petition hoping to stop the eviction of Pandit Ramadheen Ramsamooj, spiritual leader of the Saraswati Mandiram temple in Epping, and over a dozen others after the property was lost during a foreclosure. The legal fight began when lending firm G&G LLC took the temple to court in 2006, accusing members of defaulting on a loan they took out to improve the facility.
G&G won a USD2.5 million judgment against the temple in 2006 in a Virginia court. The temple then went bankrupt, and in November 2006, the 100-acre property was sold during a
foreclosure.
G&G Epping LLC, a separate entity created by G&G, eventually purchased the property, but the temple has accused the firm of mortgage fraud and argues the property was illegally taken, the Union Leader reported on its website. Members of the temple insist they shouldn't have been forced off the property until the Supreme Court hears their case.
Pandit Ramadheen Ramsamooj was working in his office on Thursday while other members of his Hindu temple were praying when sheriff deputies arrived at the door.
"This is a very sad day," lamented Ramsamooj as he sat in his van to keep warm shortly after being kicked off the temple property.
The temple launched a series of unsuccessful legal battles in Rockingham County Superior Court in an attempt to get the land back. An appeal has now been filed at the state Supreme Court.
The eviction came as no surprise to the temple's appeals attorney Joshua Gordon. However, he said he couldn't understand why the eviction came on one of the coldest days of the season as temperatures dipped below zero. G&G Epping attorney Chris Hilson said the eviction had been previously scheduled because it was the only day when the proper law enforcement agencies could be on hand to oversee the process.
"We did not purposely do this on the coldest day of the year," Hilson said. An animal control officer was also called in and arrangements were made to provide food and water for the four cows that remained in a barn on the property. Ramsamooj said sheriff deputies told temple members that they had 10 minutes to grab their shoes and hat and leave the property. But Hilson said he believes they had more than 10 minutes.
Nearly a dozen members of the temple from four families, including Ramsamooj, lived on the property. As they search for a new home, Ramsamooj said he's trying to find a new place to worship. Members of other Hindu temples in Massachusetts have offered to help.
Members of the temple will have 28 days to remove all of their belongings. The temple occupied several buildings and had large statues and other religious artifacts on the property.
Comments
0 comment