Thieves strike gold as they go on a temple run
Thieves broke into a
Chethan said they had a festival on Sunday and had decorated the statues of three gods, Anjaneya, Rama and
“We had decorated the idol with a silver kirita (crown). The hundi (collection box) was also full due to the utsav. On Wednesday night, we locked the doors of the temple and went home around 10 pm,” said Chethan. He said their plan was to empty the box and keep away the ornaments the next day.
The hundi (collection box) was full due to the festival. We had not opened the box for three-four years so there could have been around Rs 4 lakh inside
–Chethan MD, priest
“We had not opened the hundi for three to four years and there could have been around Rs. 4 lakh inside it. On Thursday, I came to the temple around 4:30 am to start the pooja. The outside gate was still locked but after I opened it, I noticed that the main door of the temple was open,” he said. He said it seemed the thieves had jumped in and had broken the main door of the temple where the god Anjaneya was being worshipped. Then he noticed that the coins from the hundi were strewn everywhere. “And when I went in, I saw that all the silver articles on the god were missing.”
He said that the silver articles weighed around 700 gm. The thieves then went to the other room where the goddess Seetha’s idol is kept and took the gold ornaments on her. “They stole a gold nose ring and mangalsutra from the goddess. There are no
