Temples under threat: Series of temple thefts reported in Puri- Land of Lord Jagannath

A series of thefts was reported from several temples in Odisha’s Puri district on Wednesday, with miscreants allegedly decamping with gold and silver ornaments of deities along with cash from donation boxes. 

The incidents occurred a day after a similar theft was reported from the Adhangei Thakurani temple at Solapur under Gop police station limits.

Thefts Reported From Multiple Temples

According to reports, the Adhangei Thakurani temple was allegedly looted on Monday night. Within a day of that incident, fresh cases of theft came to light from other temples in the area.

In the latest case, unidentified miscreants reportedly broke open the locks of the Narayani temple at Nagpur Malisahi. The accused allegedly stole the deity’s silver crown, ornaments. They also broke open the temple’s donation box and took away the cash kept inside.

Similarly, locks were found broken at the nearby Netapur Gelabai temple, Malisahi Bimala temple and Padmapada Harisahadev temple. Ornaments and donation money were allegedly looted from these temples as well.

Also Read: 10 temples, 6 months, 1 question: Who’s looting Odisha’s faith?

Concern Among Residents

The back-to-back incidents created concern among local residents, who questioned how multiple temples could be targeted within such a short span of time.

Police began an investigation into the matter. Further details were awaited at the time of reporting.