Theft at Century-Old Radha Mohan Temple in Pipili, Idols Found Thrown Outside

Pipili: In a shocking incident, a century-old temple in Pipili area of Odisha’s Puri district was targeted by thieves late at night, with valuables looted from the premises.

The miscreants broke into the Radha Mohan Temple located in Nuasasan Patna Sahi and decamped with several ornaments, including a silver crown, gold bangles, a brass throne, and silver utensils. In a disturbing act, the idols of Lord Radha and Krishna were found thrown outside the temple after the theft.

Police from Pipili station reached the spot soon after being informed and have launched an investigation into the incident.

The theft comes amid a recent rise in similar cases across the state. A few months ago in Jajpur district’s Binjharpur area, multiple thefts were reported at four locations within a span of two days.

In one such case, gold ornaments worth around Rs 15 lakh were stolen from a Santoshi Maa temple, along with nearly Rs 2 lakh from the donation box. In another incident in Chikana village under Alakunda police limits, miscreants locked the temple priest inside his house from outside before looting gold ornaments worth about Rs 1 lakh. The donation box was later found broken open nearly 100 meters away, with around Rs 2 lakh cash missing.

Additionally, houses belonging to a local sarpanch and two other residents were also targeted in recent days, raising concerns over security in the region.

Police are continuing their investigation and efforts are underway to identify and apprehend those involved.