KENDRAPARA: Burglars decamped with gold as well as silver ornaments and other apparel worth around Rs 3 lakh from the famous Ma Panchubarahi temple located at the rehabilitation colony of Bagapatia under Rajnagar police station on Wednesday night.
They also looted Rs 10,000 in cash by breaking the donation box of the temple. The theft came to light when the priestess of the temple reached the shrine on Thursday morning and found ornaments and valuables of the deities missing.
President of the managing committee of the temple Sangram Sahani lodged a complaint with police which has now launched an investigation. Panchubarahi is a unique temple where women from the fishing community don the mantle of the priestess. In fact, women have been in the religious job for the last 500 years. Rajnagar police said it has formed a special squad to probe the incident. “We are checking video footage collected from nearby areas to get vital clues regarding the theft,” said IIC of Rajnagar PS Ajay Kumar Jena.
Religious shrines of Kendrapara have reported a spate of thefts of antique idols and precious ornaments in the recent past. Around 25 temples, Buddhist monasteries and other historic places had been burgled within five years. On January 26, Kendrapara police arrested six idol lifters and recovered from their possession nine ancient Ashtadhatu idols.