THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With housebreaking incidents in the rural parts of the district brought almost under control, the burglars have shifted their focus to the temples in the area. However, the efforts of the police to make any arrests have been hit as the culprits have been found to shifting from one place to another.
Over the last one month, the deity’s ornaments and ‘hundi’ (offering box) from Ayyankamala Bhagavathy Temple near Aryanad and Muliyoor Shiva Temple in Kattakkada were stolen.
It was during the wee hours of last Saturday that burglars entered Muliyoor Shiva Temple after breaking the front grill and decamped with three steel pots which were placed as ‘hundi’.
According to the case registered by the Kattakkada police, cash amounting to around Rs 7,000 was present in the stolen pots. Though they had launched an intensive probe to track down the thieves, the police are still groping in the dark.
In another incident on July 15 at Ayyankamala Bhagavathy Temple, near Aryanad, around 10 sovereigns of the deity’s ornaments were burgled. As per the case registered at the Aryanad police station, the burglary took place between around 7.45 pm and 5 am. “The burglars entered the temple compound and broke open the door of the ‘thidapalli’ (temple kitchen). From there, they took the key of sanctum sanctorum and opened its door. They took away ornaments weighing 10 sovereigns, including a crown of 5.5 sovereigns,” said the police.
A necklace of three sovereigns, chain of one sovereign, one pair of earrings, one nose stud and some other ornaments were also stolen from the Aryanad temple. Though the police had collected evidence along with the help of fingerprint officials, the case is still pending.
According to Rural SP Rajpal Meena, the police force is working on the cases and the suspects will be nabbed soon.“We have received some clues regarding the burglars. We hope to arrest the suspects soon,” said the SP. He added that night patrolling has been tightened in the rural area.
“Security in the rural parts of the district has been tightened. During night patrolling, the temples will get more focus,” he said.
Meena said that directives regarding criteria for the posting of security officials have been given to the temple officials in this area.
“It is found that in most of the temples, people in the age group of 70 to 75 are appointed as security personnel. If any emergency occurs or any thief tries to enter the temple premises, it is certain that they won’t handle the situation. Hence, the temple officials should take the initiative to appoint men who are fit as guards,” the SP added.