Miscreants loot cash from Siruli Mahavir Temple's donation box in Puri

Some unidentified miscreants allegedly looted cash from the donation box of Siruli Mahavir Temple, located within the jurisdiction of the Chandanpur police station in Odisha’s Puri late on Monday night. 

According to the complaint filed by temple authorities, miscreants broke in by cutting the grill of the temple's exit path and stole money from the donation box.

The miscreants planned the theft beforehand and carried it out meticulously, as per reports. The looters initially disrupted the electricity supply to the entire village and then followed through with their plan of robbery. It is alleged that the thieves entered the temple premises and severed the CCTV wires to evade surveillance.

Chandannpur police arrived at the scene shortly after the incident and launched an investigation. A scientific team is expected to conduct a thorough examination at the site to gather evidence, as confirmed by police personnel.

Bhuban Samantray, Chandanpur police station officer in-charge said, “We received a complaint earlier on Tuesday at around 5 am regarding the theft. Following that, we immediately went to the scene to investigate the incident. We discovered that the contents donation box near the exit path of the temple were looted. The donation box had nearly Rs 12,000 in it which got stolen as per the information of the temple administration.”

“We have called for a forensic team to the crime site to aid our investigation. Further inquiry will reveal the exact amount of money stolen. The miscreants entered the temple through its exit point by cutting open the grill. The crime was premeditated as the looters severed the electricity connection to the entire village as well as the temple’s CCTV cameras’ wires,” he added further.

Meanwhile, the Chandanpur police is investigating further to apprehend the criminals.

Odisha in recent days has seen a significant increase in the crime rates, especially temple loots. In the most recent past, Saila Srikhetra Jagannath Temple was looted on Jan 14, 2025. The temple priests found the main gate of the temple, which they had locked securely the previous night, was broken along with items and money from the donation box was missing.

Among the temple loots reported, the robberies at Tara Tarini Temple in Ganjam and Pachamukhi Hanuman Temple in Cuttack were the ones that shocked Odisha the most. Ornaments and valuables worth lakhs were stolen leaving citizens of the state completely appalled.

Previously, as many as twelve temple thefts have been reported in Odisha in the last 100 days.