Former police station in the city all set to become new Hindu temple

A NEW Hindu temple is set to open in Rushey Mead in a former police station.

The station in Melton Road closed more than five years ago and has been used as offices since.

Plans to turn the site into a different use as a temple were first drawn up last December, but later fell through.

That is when the Shree Hanuman Temple charity, based in Leicester, saw the opportunity to create a temple dedicated to the Hindu god, Hanuman.

The Shree Kashtabhanjan Dev

Hanumanji temple – as it will be known – will be the first of its kind in Leicester, said trustee Rajesh Patel.

He explained: “It will be open to the whole community, regardless of sect.”

The charity has been hosting religious events in various venues across Leicester since 2007 with the hope of one day having their own dedicated place of worship.

Originating from the Swaminarayan sect of Hinduism, the group are devotees of the Salangpur Hanumanji temple in South Gujarat, India.

The new city temple will be a branch of the original temple in India.

In 2003, the main saints of the India temple visited Leicester, leaving a strong impression on local devotees who were eager for a temple dedicated to Hanuman.

The temple charity is currently

awaiting updates on the lockdown restrictions ahead of Diwali with the hopes of opening to the public.

Hindu god Hanuman is central to the story of Diwali and from his role in helping to defeat the demon king, Ravana.

At the moment, the temple within the former office site is home to a temporary shrine while a stonework statue of Hanuman is being made in Rajasthan, India.

The temple charity hopes to install the finished statue as part of an upcoming revamp of the current building in the forthcoming years.