MALKANGIRI: In this age of modern policing and investigation systems, resorting to traditional practices deemed superstition is rampant in the remote rural parts of the State. And, when such attempts bear fruit, weening the people from blind belief becomes a herculean task.
In such an incident at Purunaguma village in the district, a deified bamboo pole was successfully used to not only locate a stolen idol from the local temple but also nab the thief.
Villagers of Purunaguma in Khairput block on Friday morning found that the idol of Goddess Bhairabi was stolen from the temple. As the theft caused a furore, the temple priest asked the people to repose faith on the powers of the presiding deity. He asked the villagers to dedicate all rituals of the day to a bamboo pole kept in the temple and said it could help them in tracing the thief.
Gullible villagers, having complete faith in the priest, started worshipping the bamboo pole. After three hours of ‘puja’, the priest took the pole in his hands and reportedly felt a sudden pull.
The pole then reportedly guided him to the thief’s house. The people followed the priest as the bamboo pole showed the way. After covering a distance of 10 km, the search party reached Gadiput village and the pole led the priest to a house where the idol was found. Confronted by the mob, the owner of the house Guru Kope confessed that he had stolen the idol.
While Orkel police has arrested Kope in this connection, much remains to be answered in the bizarre case. Further investigation is needed to get to the roots of the mystery.