Balasore: Gold ornaments of the deities of three temples at different locations under one police station in Odisha’s Balasore district were looted late Saturday night.
According to sources, the looters targeted Basuli temple, Tarini temple and Mangala temple at Mahagaba under Kamardha police limits in the district. The matter came to light on Sunday morning when the priests of the three temples came to perform the morning rituals of the deities.
They found the main doors of the temples open and the gold ornaments of the deities and other valuables missing. They informed the locals who called the police.
The police went to the spot and started investigation. They also questioned the priests and the locals. From the preliminary investigation, the police suspected that the miscreants might have come late night.
After breaking the locks of the main doors of the temples, the miscreants decamped with the ornaments and other valuables worth lakhs of rupees. However, neither the deities nor any part of the temples had been damaged, police sources said.
Even as the police have started investigation to identify the miscreants, the locals expressed concern over loot from the places of their worship. “The devotees have been hurt due to the loot incidents. We will try to ensure security of the temples. But the poice should intensify patrolling in the area at night to prevent recurrence of such incidents,” said former Mahagaba sarpanch Pratap Kumar Sahu.
