The matter came to the light after the temple priest opened the temple gate Saturday morning.
The incident has been reported from Baldevjew Temple at Patapur panchayat under Dharmasala police limits in Jajpur district.
Among the rare idols were Lord Ram, Krishna, Madanmohan, Goddess Radha, Laxmi and Saraswati.
This is the first such incident of theft in the famous temple of Baldevjew in the last 500 years. The incident has spread outrage in the village.
As per the allegations, a few thieves sneaked into the temple late Friday night. They broke open the temple gate and fled with the idols, locals alleged.
Angry villagers demanded stringent action against those behind the theft.
“Such a heinous crime was committed last night. This is the first time in 500 years. I’m confident our Lords will return to their own place because local police are leaving no stone unturned to catch the thieves,” said Binod Das, a member of the Temple Committee.
Similarly, Temple priest Dhirendra Satapathy said, “I open the temple gate every day at around 6 am. I’m the temple priest here. I have been doing this for the last 30 years. As usual, I came with my flower basket and opened the gate. However, I saw the temple gate was already broken. When I opened the door, I found all 6 idols were missing.”
Unidentified miscreants reportedly looted valuables worth lakhs of rupees along with cash from Laxminarayan Temple. Later, they also tried to rob the Durga Temple and Siva Temple situated in the town.
Sources said that robbers entered the Laxminarayan Temple by breaking open the lock of the entrance door and decamped with two silver crowns, three golden tulsi trees and cash stashed inside the donation box of the temple.
Thereafter, they also tried to loot the Durga Temple. However, they failed in their attempt as they could not break open the door of the shrine.
The looters though managed to enter the Siva Temple in the night but they could not decamp with cash as the donation box of the temple was empty. The temple authorities had removed the cash from the donation box earlier after receiving huge amount of donations on the occasion of Shravan Somvar.
The incidents came to light when the priests went to the temples to conduct the daily morning rituals. They immediately informed the matter to the temple authorities. Police complaints were also lodged in connection with the incidents.
The series of incidents have raised many eyebrows about the security of the temples in the area.
Meanwhile, based on the complaints of the temple priests, police have started investigation into the incidents. They are verifying the footages of the CCTVs installed in and around the temples to identify the miscreants.
As per reports, several valuables including cash have been stolen from Jagannath temple and Dakshina Kali temple last night.
Masked thieves entered the Jagannath temple and looted cash from the donation box. The entire act of loot of valuables has been captured in the CCTV camera installed on the temple premises.
Similarly, gold ornaments from Dakshina Kali temple were also reportedly stolen by thieves.
The theft of cash and ornaments came to light on Saturday morning when both the temples were reopened by the priests of respective religious institutions.
Local police has begun an investigation into the twin theft incidents. The entire CCTV camera footage will be examined for clues, said a senior police official requesting anonymity.
It is pertinent to mention here that a non-profit organisation INTACH had recently expressed concern over rising cases of temple thefts in Odisha and illegal exports of idols.
The organisation’s state convener Amiya Bhusan Tripathy, who is also the former police chief of Odisha, lamented that there is an absolute lack of awareness and gross apathy regarding the intrinsic value of antique idols that represent the rich cultural heritage of the State.
The prevailing laws intended to prevent idol thefts and burglary are inherently ineffective and a holistic national heritage protection policy and the system should be put in place, he said
Also Read: Concerns Raised Over Rising Cases Of Temple Thefts In Odisha
(Edited By Pradeep Singh)