BERHAMPUR: Unidentified miscreants broke into Tara Tarini temple complex and decamped with ornaments worth lakhs of rupees at Purushottampur in Ganjam district late on Tuesday night.
The silver crown of the deity and a ceremonial umbrella were found stolen, executive officer of the temple board TK Reddy said. The anti-socials reportedly broke the locks of the donation box but couldn’t loot the money kept inside it.
The theft came to light when servitors reached the temple in the morning and found the locks of the main gate and the metal grills broken. The shrine was closed at 10 pm on Tuesday.
Later, police reached the spot and began investigation. The head priest of the temple said the miscreants decamped with various silver ornaments and other valuables. Reddy said the temple lacks CCTV surveillance as they were removed during renovation works.
“During a meeting last month, the temple board had decided to re-install the CCTV cameras after completion of renovation works. But the cameras hadn’t been installed. The security guard was on duty when the loot took place but as he keeps roaming on the premises, the miscreants managed to sneak in when he was not present near the main gate,” he added.
Police said investigation is underway and a manhunt launched to nab the burglars. Meanwhile, concerned over the frequent loot incidents in the area, locals called for a high-level inquiry into the matter.
A fact-finding team of the BJD comprising former MP Chandrasekhar Sahu, former MLAs Bikram Panda and Suryamani Baidya, Ganjam BJD unit president Ramesh Chandra Choupatnaik and others reached the shrine to take stock of the incident and prepare a report.