Lucknow: Unidentified thieves carried out a daring burglary at the historic Shri Avsaneswar Mahadev temple, located in the Haidergarh area of Barabanki district, late on Tuesday night.The criminals broke into the temple’s sanctum sanctorum and decamped with a silver canopy (chhatra), silver plating fixed on ritual vessels, and other precious puja items weighing nearly 7-8kg. The total value of the stolen property was estimated at around Rs25 lakh.
The theft came to light on Wednesday morning when the temple priest arrived for daily rituals and found the channel gate lock broken, the donation box smashed and temple articles scattered. The priest immediately informed the police.Following the information, the Haidergarh police, along with a forensic science team, reached the spot and initiated a detailed inspection of the crime scene. CCTV footage from the temple premises and nearby routes is being examined. Preliminary clues suggest that one of the thieves wore a monkey mask, possibly to conceal his identity.Haidergarh Kotwali in-charge Abhimanyu Mall confirmed that the thieves entered the temple by breaking the channel gate lock and reached the sanctum. “The incident is being investigated seriously. Technical surveillance and CCTV analysis are underway, and efforts are on to crack the case at the earliest,” he said.Meanwhile, the Avsaneswar temple committee submitted a written complaint seeking registration of an FIR. According to the complaint, the theft occurred between 2:30am and 3am, during which the silver canopy, silver-plated arghya, and cash from the donation box were stolen. What added to public concern is the rising trend of temple thefts in the district. On the same morning, another incident of theft of puja materials was reported from a temple at Bhagouli Teerth in the Baddupur police station area. Several similar incidents have surfaced over the past month.
