Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (SP)
Kundapur, Jun 22: On the night of Wednesday Jun 18, unknown thieves entered Lord Teertha Vinayaka Temple at Choradi in the taluk, which a place of historical importance in the taluk, on the night of Wednesday June 18 and took away money found in the locker of the temple.
The lock of the main door of the temple was found to have been cut open with the help of a hacksaw. The locker was broken open with the help of a pickaxe and sickle. Donations put into the locker by visiting devotees, estimated to be amounting to about Rs 30,000 was found to have been stolen.
A knife was found to have been left behind by thieves near the locker. Strangely, the thieves did not take away the silver mask of the idol of the presiding deity or coins in the locker. This has made locals and the police alike to believe that the theft is the handiwork of local thieves.
The villagers noted that thefts had been committed at this temple twice earlier, but the police have not succeeded in making any headway in identifying and punishing culprits involved. They have urged the police to earnestly investigate the present case of theft, and ensure that the thieves are put behind bars.
The residents of the village said that the street leading to this temple, which is located about a hundred metres away from the road between Halady and Vandar, has not been provided with street lights. Saying that absence of lighting has been creating a favourable situation for the thieves, they have urged the local administration to provide street lights to the temple road without delay.