Burglars strike four temples in one night; gold ornaments, crowns missing

A spate of thefts has left the residents of Simulia in Balasore district alarmed, as miscreants carried out two major incidents in quick succession late Saturday night—one involving a series of temple break-ins and another, a brazen bike theft in a busy market area.

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In the first heist incident, thieves targeted four temples—Mangala Temple, Radha Krishna Temple, Mahishasuri Temple, and Siddha Basuli Temple—located in Patana village under Anandpur panchayat of Simulia police limits.

The burglars looted gold and silver ornaments worth several lakhs, including idols’ crowns, necklaces, silver ‘bel patra’, Radha Krishna’s silver flute, and Goddess Mangala’s gold ‘mangal sutra’, before fleeing the spot under cover of darkness.

In another case, a motorcycle was stolen from outside a saree shop in Markona while the owner, Basakrishna Majhi of Baunsakhunta village under Soro police limits, was shopping. The entire act was captured on CCTV cameras, showing the thief skillfully riding away with the vehicle. Majhi has lodged a complaint at the Simulia Police Station.

Local residents have demanded stricter night patrolling and swift action against the culprits as repeated crimes continue to challenge police effectiveness in the region.

“I had come here to drop my elder son at Markona bus stand. After dropping him off at the bus stand, I purchased a dress for my younger son. I entered the garments store at around 9.40 AM and I came out after my shopping was finished to see that my motorcycle was not there in the parking,” the victim man said to OTV.

“The entire incident was captured in a CCTV installed at a nearby bank,” the man added.