Minister and Ramgarh MlA Chandra Prakash Chaudhary on Wednesday raised security concerns at the famous Rajrappa shrine and penned a letter to Chief Minister Raghubar Das to provide 24X7 security at the shrine and its periphery. Chaudhary expressed that security needs to be beefed up in the area which falls under naxal affected zone of Jharkhand.
“There is a police station at Rajrappa but that is too far and inadequate to meet security requirements. Devotees who come to worship often face security related issues. So, I have requested the Chief Minister that a separate police station should be setup for the temple area,” said Chaudhary.
The Minister added that police visits the place once in a while and that offers a valid justification for setting up a special police station besides another compelling reason which is absence of round the clock security for the premises which becomes a deserted place after sunset. The famous shrine is situated in dense forest and naxal threat looms large in the vicinity of the shrine.
A Press communiqué issued on behalf of the Minister pointed at theft of the 300-year old idol of goddess Chhinnmastika in 2010. The idol was broken into pieces and thieves had walked away with a 50-kg silver stool from the main temple. “We want a permanent security arrangement for the place. A special arrangement will be for 24-hours,” Chaudhary told.
The communiqué expresses that the area lacks proper security arrangement for devotees despite threat of naxal in the premises and around it. The communiqué asserted that devotees do not prefer to stay at the place in the absence of adequate security and unpleasant incidents are a matter of time considering the huge crowd that the shrine pulls.