SRIKAKULAM: Unidentified persons stole a mobile hundi from Srimukhalingam Temple of Srikakulam district in the wee hours of Tuesday.
The incident came to light when priests found the lock of the temple at Mukhalingam in Jalumuru mandal broken and the mobile hundi missing on Tuesday morning. Endowments officials and police found the hundi lying broken in a field near the temple.
The incident comes close on the heels of allegations of tantrik rituals being performed at Kanaka Durga Temple in Vijayawada.
“As it appears, the miscreants entered the temple between 2 am and 4 am after the lone security person left for home after duty. They broke the lock of the gate and entered the temple,” Endowments Commissioner Shyamalamma told reporters. She pointed out that as per norms, the hundi should not have contained more than `10,000.
Interestingly, the permanent hundi next to the mobile hundi was left untouched. When asked about CCTV cameras installed on the temple premises, the Endowments Commissioner said, “As archaeological officials recently started stone washing works on the temple premises, the CCTV cameras were disconnected. We have already suspended the security person.”
The incident brings to focus the lax security system in place at the Lord Siva shrine which was built by Kamarnava of the Eastern Ganga dynasty on the banks of the Vamsadhara in 8th century AD.
According to legend, Lord Shiva appeared on a Madhuka tree here to save gandharvas who were born as tribals.