Rayagada: A person was arrested after locals caught him stealing silver ornaments including a crown of goddess Bimala inside the Jagannath temple near Rayagada municipality office. According to reports, the accused managed to loot the crown when other officials including priest were busy in performing other rituals at the temple.
A frantic search operation was launched after the priest found the crown of the goddess missing and alerted local residents.
“After morning arati, I came outside to wash the utensils and in the meantime, the miscreant had stolen away the crown. With the help of locals, we detained the thief from the nearby area” said temple priest Girish Rath.
Rath further alleged that there has been a rise in the number of thefts from temples in the district.
On January 17, miscreants had looted the Astadhatu idol of the presiding deity of Manikeshwari temple at Khedapada village.
"We are now worried as there have been several incidents of theft from various temples in the district. Our temple is situated in an open area and there is no security guard also," Rath added.