KENDRAPARA: Burglars broke into the Lakshmi Varaha Jew Temple in Aul village and decamped with an Ashtadhatu idol of Radha Krishna besides other brass items from the sanctum sanctorum late on Saturday.
The theft came to light when priest Golak Bihari Panda reached the temple on Sunday morning and found the main door open and the idol missing. He filed an FIR with Aul police station. IIC Saila Pradhan said a special team has been formed to investigate the theft. Not ruling out the involvement of an insider in the incident, he said, the priests and locals were being questioned.
As the news of the theft spread, a large number of people gathered at the temple while some devotees also staged dharna demanding immediate arrest of the culprits. Sources said as many as 20 temples, Buddhist monasteries, and other historic places have been burgled in the last four years in the district.
Despite the high incidence of such thefts, the conviction rate of arrested thieves continues to be almost nil due to the slipshod attitude of police officials and other agencies concerned.
“Zero conviction arises out of long delay in hearing of the cases, tampering of evidence, lack of forensic tests, non-cooperation of the eyewitnesses and other factors,” said Kendrapara-based lawyer Subash Das.
Around two years back, miscreants had decamped with a three-foot-high Muguni idol of Goddess Durga from the Nayakbabu temple within the core area of Bhitarkanika National Park.
The idol, made from black granite (Muguni) stone, was three feet high and weighed around one quintal. Astadhatu idols, gold and silver ornaments were stolen from the 350-year-old Radhakanta Jew temple in Giria village under Rajkanika.