Lucknow: The silver crown of the deity, the gold-plated face of the idol and cash from the donation box were stolen from an age-old temple in Lucknow. According to the details, the incident was reported from the Chowk area of the city.
Anandi Devi temple is located just about 20 metres from the Chowk police station, however, the police came to know about the incident only after the priests informed them.
An FIR in the case was lodged on the complaint of the temple priest Atul Awasthi.
In the complaint, it was stated the lock of the inner door was found broken and jewellery worth lakhs and cash was missing when Awasthi came to the temple.
CCTV footage of the area were scanned and the police spotted a man leaving the area with a bag on a bike.
The man is being treated as a suspect by the police.
"Since the shutter was not broken, it appears that the miscreant had a master key to unlock it and get inside the temple. However, he failed to unlock the inner gate and broke the lock before decamping with valuables," Deputy Commissioner of Police, West Zone, Shivasimpi Channappa said.
Meanwhile, the incident led to protests from locals who said the theft committed right under the nose of the police not only exposed claims of heavy patrolling but also desecrated the deity.
Former Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma and former Minister Ashutosh Tandon, who is also a local MLA, visited the temple and inquired with the police about the investigation.
The locals and jewellers of the area have threatened to close the entire Chowk market if the miscreant is not caught soon.
(With inputs from IANS)
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