VISAKHAPATNAM: Amid the spree of thefts at temples in the State, including that of three silver lions from the chariot of Goddess Kanaka Durga temple in Vijayawada, it has come to light that about 500 kg of brass items offered to the presiding deity at Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple in Simhachalam are missing. The missing items are worth around Rs 1.20 lakh, temple officials said.
Simhachalam Temple assistant EO (AEO) P Rama Rao said they noticed a few days ago that some bags containing the brass valuables were missing. After an internal enquiry, the temple authorities lodged a complaint with the police on Saturday. “The items were offered by devotees and were stored at the kalyanamandapam in the temple premises. They were covered with iron mesh as the contractor who won the auction would take them,” the AEO said.
The temple authorities questioned the security guards regarding the missing items. “Since we could not get any clues, we lodged a complaint with the police,” they said, adding that the theft might have taken place 10-15 days ago. They suspect it was committed between 7 pm and 5 am.
The AEO said devotees offer brass bracelets and brass replicas of bells and oxen in the hundi. The brass offerings earn revenue for the temple as they are auctioned every year. The brass items were recently auctioned but the contractor left them at the temple to take them later.
Sources in the temple administration said it was noticed that the bags were missing when the contractor came two days earlier to pick them up. The sources added that it was surprising that so many bags had gone missing.The Gopalapatnam police registered a case, and checked CCTV footage as part of their investigation.