In a major heist, thieves took away jewellery and valuables worth nearly Rs 1 crore from a historic Shiva Temple in Haryana’s Panchkula district, police said on Monday.
The theft took place in Saketri on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday and the entire theft was caught on CCTV. “The thieves broke open locks of the temple and took away gold and silver jewellery and valuables,” a priest at the temple said.
The Haryana Police is investigating the matter. The temple, located around 10 km from here, attracts hundreds of devotees daily. Thousands of people offered prayers at the temple on the occasion of Mahashivratri last week.
The temple had received lakhs of rupees in cash as offering which had been deposited in the bank only two days back, the priests told the police. However, the valuables of the temple and offerings made after had remained in the temple complex.
Initial investigations revealed that the thieves entered the temple through the hills surrounding the temple complex. For nearly three hours, the thieves carried out their nefarious design and moved around as the CCTV revealed.
Keshav Ram Gupta of Shiva Mandir Navadurga Charitable Trust said that jewellery worth Rs 30 lakhs was stolen from the temple. He said such an incident took place for the first time in the last 40 years.
As usual, there were 15 people in the temple on Sunday night but they did not notice anything. Information about the incident was given by a priest who was going to the temple at around five in the morning.
A Police official said there are 32 CCTV cameras in the temple. “The incident is being investigated. CCTV footage, including all aspects related to the case, are being investigated. Accused will be arrested soon.” Anshu Singla, ASP, Panchkula, said.