Nearly Rs 3 Lakh Looted At Puri’s Siddha Mahavir temple

Puri: In a major security breach at the famous Siddha Mahavir temple in Puri, miscreants allegedly looted Rs 3 lakh from the donation box of the shrine late yesterday night.

As per reports, after breaking open the iron grill and brass locks of the temple, the miscreants robbed cash from the donation box. Later, the executive officer at the temple filed a complaint at Talabania Police Station in Puri.

After receiving the complaint, police reached the temple and launched an investigation. They have also detained two persons for interrogation.

In the absence of a Trust Board, not a single rupee was withdrawn out of the donation box in last 3 years and it is suspected that the robbers took advantage of the situation.

"The incident must have taken place between 2 AM to 3 AM today as servitors wake up at 4 AM to begin the rituals. The miscreants broke the lock and fled with a huge amount of cash," said a helper of the temple, Kailash Jena.

A servitor at the temple, Santosh Mishra, said, "The miscreants had locked us from outside while we were sleeping in a room on the temple premises before executing the robbery. Later, after an alarm was raised, we found that the hundi was emptied."

Speaking on the incident, Puri Superintendent of Police, Uma Shankar Dash said, "We have detained two persons and launched an investigation into the case. We are also in touch with temple authorities and have asked them to install CCTV cameras on the temple premises."