Rs 1.40 lakh burgled from Kullu temple

Our Correspondent

KULLU, FEBRUARY 8

Unknown miscreants broke into the historic Bijli Mahadev temple at Kullu and decamped with over Rs 1.40 lakh from the cash donation box last night. Kullu SP Shalini Agnihotri said the temple authorities informed the police today about the heist.

The temple located on the hill opposite to Kullu town remains closed for pilgrims during winters. The area witnesses heavy rush of pilgrims and tourists during summers.

The SP said when the temple priest visited the temple today to perform a ceremony he found about the burglary. She said though a CCTV had been installed in the temple these were not functional.

Cases of theft in temples have shown an increase in the recent past. As per the police data, there are 26,500 places of worship, including 5,000 temples in 20,118 villages of the state. A large number of temples have ancient and priceless idols and artifacts. However, these temples have no CCTV surveillance or any other worthwhile arrangements of security. With limited police force, it is a challenging task for the government to ensure that the rich and ancient cultural heritage of the state is protected.

A large number of thefts of idols and artifacts have done a significant harm to the rich cultural and ancient heritage of the state. The government, the police, administration, priests and the kardar associated with deities though claim implementing various measures have remained unable to curtail the incidents of thefts. These agencies tend to pass the buck on each other after such incidents. Policies framed to protect the temples from fire and theft incidents have remained largely on paper.

Meanwhile, various organisations and associations of the area have raised their concern, demanding adequate security measures for the protection of rich cultural heritage of the district.