6 century-old rare idols looted from Odisha’s Jajpur

At least six rare idols, believed to be more than century-old, were allegedly stolen from the famous Baldevjew Temple in Odisha’s Jajpur. 

The matter came to the light after the temple priest opened the temple gate Saturday morning.
 The incident has been reported from Baldevjew Temple at Patapur panchayat under Dharmasala police limits in Jajpur district. 

Among the rare idols were Lord Ram, Krishna, Madanmohan, Goddess Radha, Laxmi and Saraswati.

This is the first such incident of theft in the famous temple of Baldevjew in the last 500 years. The incident has spread outrage in the village.

As per the allegations, a few thieves sneaked into the temple late Friday night. They broke open the temple gate and fled with the idols, locals alleged.

Angry villagers demanded stringent action against those behind the theft. 

“Such a heinous crime was committed last night. This is the first time in 500 years. I’m confident our Lords will return to their own place because local police are leaving no stone unturned to catch the thieves,” said Binod Das, a member of the Temple Committee. 

Similarly, Temple priest Dhirendra Satapathy said, “I open the temple gate every day at around 6 am. I’m the temple priest here. I have been doing this for the last 30 years. As usual, I came with my flower basket and opened the gate. However, I saw the temple gate was already broken. When I opened the door, I found all 6 idols were missing.”