PATNA: Unidentified miscreants stole idols of Gods and goddesses from an ancient temple in Bihar’s Samastipur district. The value of 200-year-old stolen idols made of ‘Ashtadhatu’ is estimated to be crores in the international market.
The incident took place at the historic 24 Avatar Dham Chakoti Math under Khanpur block, where thieves stole idols of Ram, Sita, and Lakshman, along with gold ornaments, silver items, and cash.
In addition, the thieves also escaped with a golden bow and arrow, a gold-plated umbrella, silver crowns, and cash from four donation boxes.
The incident came to light on Sunday morning after the priest found the temple’s locks broken and the antique idols missing.
After finding the sanctum sanctorum empty, the priest raised an alarm, drawing the attention of residents.
A police team from Khanpur police station rushed to the spot, and a dog squad was pressed into service to identify the culprits. The CCTV footage installed inside the temple was also obtained.
“So far, we have not been able to ascertain the identity of the thieves. Investigation is underway,” said SHO Ranjeet Kumar Choudhary.
Costly ornaments laced with gold and silver, which were donated to the Gods and goddesses by devotees, had also been taken away by the miscreants.
The value of the stolen items was estimated to be Rs.1.5 crore in the market, Das said, adding that the gold chain of Goddess Laxmi was also missing.
No breakthrough has been reached so far in the case.
On June 24, Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and his deputy Vijay Kumar Chaudhary attended the ‘pran pratishtha’ of 24 incarnations of Lord Vishnu.
Earlier, a similar incident was reported from the Kali temple under the Thaneshwarsthan railway bridge in Samastipur district, where valuables were taken from the sanctum sanctorum.
The incident took place late Friday night under the Town police station limits.
According to the temple priest, Basant Kumar Jha, the incident occurred after the evening ‘aarti’.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau’s ‘Crime in India in 2024’ report, Bihar ranked 15th among 36 states and Union Territories in idol thefts from places of worship under Section 305(d) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The state recorded eight cases against the national total of eight cases against the national total of 465, with Odisha topping the list at 151.
Bihar Police recovered three Ashtadhatu idols and five other stolen ‘Ashtadhatu’ idols and arrested five persons.
In 2025, Bihar registered 11 idol theft cases in districts including Saran, Samastipur, Begusarai, Munger, Bhagalpur and Purnea. Till June 2026, nine cases had already been reported in Aurangabad, Rohtas, Madhepura, Samastipur and Begusarai.
