JACKSON TOWNSHIP, Ohio (Diya TV) — A family of Indian Americans in Ohio have begun to believe the color of their skin has regularly made them, and others who are members of their culture, a target of thieves in their community.
Fox 8 in Cleveland first reported the stories of A.J. and Gita, who chose to omit the usage of their last names for their own protection.
The couple’s home was broken into in 2012, thieves made away with a priceless heirloom which had been handed down to Gita by her parents for her wedding. She hoped to one day pass the object down to her daughter in the same tradition. “It’s all sentimental value for my family. It’s gone. It’s hurting so bad to me and it’s never replaced you know,” she said.
Since that break-in four years ago, she and her husband have learned a vast number of other Indian Americans in the Northern Ohio community have been victims of similar crimes.
Coincidentally, just a week ago, A.J. and Gita had their home broken into, again. The invaders smashed a window on their home, in spite of its security system. Police say they responded to the residence within a matter of six minutes, but when they arrived, the thieves were already gone.
“This time I think about that I have a security system, so I’m safe. That’s how I feel, but still I’m not safe,” Gita said. “The alarm triggered. We have a motion sensor in my bedroom so it triggered,” her husband added.
While the couple believe there is a pattern of crimes being committed against members of their community, police officials in their town of Jackson Township say no such evidence exists to suggest that being true. There has been no pattern to the break-ins, police detective Josh Escola said.
“I can only speak for Jackson Township and for the cases that I have and the other detectives that are handling burglaries, I can go as far as mid-summer and there is no particular race that is being hit for these burglaries,” Escola said.
However, Escola conceded that whomever broke into A.J. and Gita’s home, they knew what they were doing.
“The family you are talking about did have an alarm system. The way the house was entered sounds like somebody knew what they were looking for or where it was at, so even with an alarm system, if it’s calculated they can get in and out fast,” he said.
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