Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP)
Udupi, Jul 2: The thieves, after targetting people and cooperative banks, seem to have decided that temples are a safer bet, as they offer better returns at lesser risk. While normally there are no guards on duty, the thieves are sure that the idols will remain mute spectators and would not give out the identity of the thieves. They also seem to believe that no one will take personal interest in temple theft cases and doggedly pursue the cases to their logical end.
On Tuesday June 30 night, continuing with a spate of such incidents being reported since the last several months, thieves sneaked into Bannanje Sri Mahalingeshwar temple here and took away gold, silver ornaments and an idol made out of an alloy of five metals, totally values at about Rs 3.5 lac.
After the thieves applied force on the northern door of the temple, the lock of the cross bar defending the door from inside broke open. The thieves then succeeded in breaking the lock of the sanctorum sanctorum. They took away the silver ornaments that decorate the pedestals of the idols of Lord Mahalingeshwara, Lord Ganapati and Sridevi besides silver mask, puja paraphernalia, gold chains and other ornaments. Most of the gold ornaments they have taken away are ancient.
However, they left behind the silver mask of Lord Mahalingeshwara and silver aureole of the serpent god's idol. They even left the donation box with cash collections inside it, intact even after breaking open the donation box, in a curious development.
The value of the silver ornaments stolen is put at Rs 1.8 lac and gold ornaments at Rs 1.75 lac. An eight inch high ‘Bali Murty' of the Lord, made of an alloy of five metals, was taken away by the thieves.
The heavy rains on Tuesday night seem to have helped the thieves, as the sniffer dogs could not find any clues. The dogs led the policemen to a neighbouring house but no one lives there. The neighbourers said they did not hear any noises at night.
A case has been registered in the town police station here. Superintendent of police Pravin Madhukar Pawar, deputy superintendent of police Jayant Shetty, circle inspector of police Ganesh Hegde and others visited the spot and guided the investigations.