In yet another incident of idol theft, three Ashtadhatu idols of Lord Ram, Janaki and Lakshman have been stolen from a Ram-Janaki temple in Lakhnaur area in Mau, Uttar Pradesh as reported by Jagran.
The temple from where the idols have been stolen was built by the ancestors of one Rajendra Pandey. Rajendra Pandey’s family used to perform the rituals in the temple. The stolen idols weighed 45 kg, each idol weighing 15 kg and are estimated to be worth crores in the international market. On Tuesday night, when the whole Pandey family went off to sleep, the thieves broke into the temple and took away the idols along with the broken lock. The police were informed when the Pandey family found out about the theft the next morning.
On getting the information of theft, the local police along with a SWAT team and forensic experts arrived on the spot. Inspector-in-chargee Neeraj Kumar Pathak and SWAT incharge Rajesh Yadav arrived at the spot to examine the situation while evidence was collected. Rajendra Pandey has lodged an FIR against unidentified persons.
A special team has been formed under the direction Superintendent of Police Lalit Kumar in relation to the incident of idol theft. A search operation has been started by the team to trace the thieves and the idols.
This is the second incident of idol-theft reported this month. In a similar incident, which took place on Oct 16, two 114 year old idols were stolen from a Ram-Janaki temple in Vaishali, Bihar.