Maa Tarini’s idol stolen from temple in Odisha; jewelleries, cash looted

An antique idol of Maa Tarini was reportedly stolen from a temple at Kanpur village under the Bhograi block of Balasore district late last night. The miscreants have also allegedly decamped with jewellery worth lakhs of the goddess along with all cash from the donation box.

The matter came to the fore after the priest opened the temple this morning. The stolen items are reportedly worth more than Rs 2 lakh, the priest said.

“A local informed me that the gate of the temple was broken. So, I rushed here only to find everything missing including the idol, jewellery, and cash from the donation box,” Kamal Tripathy, the chief priest of the temple said.

A local Rajendra Patra stated, “I have my shop near the temple. I open it every day at around 5 am. As usual, I came to open my shop today morning and found the Temple gate open. Later, I saw the idol was missing and the donation box was thrown away. So, I immediately informed the priest."

Based on the complaint by the priest, police have registered a case against unidentified persons and launched a probe into the incident.