Some North Texans in the Indian Asian American community say they are
Some North Texans in the Indian Asian American community say they are being targeted by thieves who are going after their gold.
Irving police confirmed there have been at least five burglaries over the last few weeks that appear to be similar. In some cases electronics or other items were taken, but in each case the jewelry seemed to be the prize.
One Valley Ranch family returned home Saturday to find their house ransacked.
“I’m not at peace. Someone walking into my house, I can’t sleep. It’s very hard. They took my child’s bag. I saw that my entire closet was pulled out. Each and every box, jewelry box was open and immediately I knew they were here for my jewelry,” said Jaspreet Khokher.
She and her husband, Anshul Aggarwal, talked with neighbors and realized several other Indian Asian American families have been also been victimized recently and their gold jewelry was taken.
“We feel that we were victimized because we belong to a certain culture,” Khokher said.
It’s their cultural tradition to collect pure gold jewelry, which is worth more than the dollar amount.
“Just the little significant moments, you know when my son was born. My mom gave her something and when my daughter was born she got something. So it’s just the emotional value is huge,” Aggarwal said.
The family thinks the burglaries are happening now because most of the time the jewelry is kept secured. But it’s festival season right now and jewelry is brought out to wear and celebrate.
“We typically wear these when we go to our temples or in socialization or in gatherings,” Khokher said.
The couple said they are speaking out to make others in the community more aware and to encourage a bigger response from police.
Police said they have increased patrols in the neighborhood and contacted the homeowner’s associations. They’ve also reached out to other police departments to find out if they’ve had similar break-ins.
Read more: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/19958271/thieves-targeting-indian-asian-american-community#ixzz2Awp8i2uV