Idols Looted From 2nd Temple In 3 Days In Odisha’s Puri District

Puri: With police remaining clueless about spree of idol thefts in the district, the miscreants targeted yet another temple late Friday night.

This time, Gopinath temple at Birnarasinghpur village under Chandanpur police limits of Puri Sadar block has been looted. As many as 5 idols made of ‘Astadhatu’ (eight precious metals) have been stolen from the temple.

The miscreants have also taken away costly gold and silver ornaments of the deities worshipped in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.

The matter came to light after the priests of the temple opened it early in the morning to perform the rituals. After they alerted the villagers, the latter informed the police.

The police have went to the village and launched an investigation. Though the police suspected involvement of a gang of robbers, they could not confirm their identity.

It may be noted that three idols were stolen from 500-year-old Isaneswara temple at Srimukundapur under Gadisagoda police limits of Kanas block on Tuesday. At least six temples have been looted in the district in the last two months, the sources said.

The police claimed to have recovered 10 stolen Astadhatu idols from the possession of one Prafulla Mishra while he was trying to sell those on March 8.

Also Read: Miscreants Target Another Temple In Odisha’s Puri Dist, Steal Three Precious Idols