A brass lamp weighing around four quintals worth Rs 15 lakh was stolen from the lord Ayyappa temple near St Xavier School under Govindpura police station area in the wee hours on Saturday.
According to police, lamp inside the lord Ayyappa temple premises was stolen in early hours of Saturday. A complaint was lodged with the Govindpura police by the temple management after the security guard spotted the lamp missing.
Home Minister Babulal Gaur visited the temple during the daytime and instructed the officials to intensify the search for the miscreants involved in the burglary.
A complaint was filed by vice president of the temple management KPR Nair and in which the complainant has claimed that the lamp was found missing in the wee hours by the security guard and he was informed by the security guard about the missing lamp. In the burglary other valuables were not disturbed.
CSP Govindpura Ajay Singh said that no CCTV cameras were installed on the temple premises and the area wears a deserted look which provided easy entry and easy escape for the miscreants.
In the initial investigations when the security guard deployed at the temple was questioned his replies were not consistent but at the moment his involvement in the incident could not be confirmed. It is possible that he had gone to sleep during which the burglary occurred but to defend his job he was not able to provide satisfactory answers, he added.
Police claimed that the lone security guard present was not alerted even the whole lamp was dismantled by the miscreants. The lamp is fixed in the floor using clamps which could be dismantled except the base which is fixed with the floor. The miscreants entered the temple from the back side. The police have registered a case under Section 380 of the IPC and have started further investigation.