Jajpur: A team comprising police and panchayat members from Odisha’s Jajpur district have left for New Delhi to identify a stolen idol seized by the Customs officials.
According to sources, some unidentified miscreants broke into Maa Kotrakshi temple at Darpan under Badachana police station in the district on the night of January 11, 2021. They opened the main door of the temple by breaking the lock and took away the main idol of Maa Kotrakshi and other valuables.
The priests of the temple and villagers came to know about the loot next morning and filed a complaint at Badachana police station. They said the idol, which was made of ‘astadhatu’ (8 precious stones), was very old and would cost high in the market.
Following the complaint, a police team under the supervision of Jajpur SP started investigation. But they could neither identify the robbers nor trace the stolen idol.
Meanwhile, the police were informed about an idol seized by the officials of Customs department at New Delhi airport. A team of police personnel and panchayat members on Friday left for New Delhi to identify and ascertain whether the seized idol was the one which was stolen from the temple. If they confirm that it was the same idol, it would be returned to the temple, the sources said.
