Idol vandalised by two thieves for gold, silver ornaments

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

Two petty thieves broke into a temple by cutting the channel gate and vandalised the idol of Lord Hanuman to steal small gold and silver ornaments. They also made away with Rs 2.5 lakh kept in a cupboard inside the temple. The theft came to light on Saturday morning at a temple in the Padampura area, triggering strong anger among locals and devotees.

A 250–300-year-old Hanuman temple stands on the Karnapura–RTO road in Padampura. Lakshmi Chakrawar has been appointed by the trust to clean the temple. As usual, she reached the temple around 5 am on Saturday and noticed that the lock of the main channel gate had been broken. She immediately informed temple president Sanjay Barwal, who rushed to the spot along with others. In-charge of Chhavani police station Dr Vivek Jadhav and sub-inspector Sachin Gadekar also arrived.

Busy road, yet thieves stayed inside for 37 minutes

The temple is located right next to a main road that witnesses vehicle movement throughout the night. Despite this, the thieves broke open the channel gate at around 3.47 am and entered the premises. They reportedly remained inside the temple for nearly 37 minutes.

The Hanuman idol was adorned with a gold tilak, silver eyebrows, silver anklets, and a silver trident on the forehead. The thieves vandalised the idol while removing these ornaments. They also stole Rs 2.5 lakh from a cupboard. Following the incident, a crowd gathered in the morning, leading to rising tension. Deputy commissioner of police Pankaj Atulkar and assistant commissioner of police Bhagirathi Pawar held discussions with locals. Later, new ornaments were placed on the idol and an abhishek was performed.

Probe underway by three teams

In the afternoon, former mayor Nandkumar Ghodele, Gajanan Barwal, corporator Harshada Shirsat, Raju Rajput, Abhijit Jeevanwal and Vijay Waghchaure met commissioner of police Pravin Pawar, urging swift action. Three teams from the crime branch and Chhavani police are conducting an intensive investigation.

Preliminary inquiry suggests that the two suspects were seen sitting at Ayodhya ground, where they are believed to have consumed intoxicants. They later roamed around after parking a two-wheeler at Panchavati Chowk before heading to the temple. After committing the theft, they fled through bylanes in the direction of the railway station.