Berhampur: Unidentified miscreants allegedly looted valuables worth over Rs one lakh from two temples located at different places in Ganjam district on Wednesday night. The looted temples are Gangadevi temple at Purunabandh under Ganjam police limits and Shani Temple near Kabisurya Nagar.
Miscreants entered Gangadevi temple by breaking the locks of the temple, located on the outskirts of the village. They decamped with at least two silver crowns, a golden ornament, and a nose ring of the deity, said police. Though the miscreants attempted to loot the cash from the hundi (the donation box) by breaking it, they could not take the cash, police said.
“We have registered a case and started an investigation. Patrols are on to locate the miscreants involved in the loot from the temple,” said Sumitra Patra, OIC, Ganjam police station.
Similarly, the miscreants allegedly took some cash by breaking the hundi of the Shani temple near Kabisurya Nagar. They also took away the CCTV camera installed in the temple. The miscreants, however, did not damage the idols.
With these two incidents, the miscreants have looted at least four temples in the district in the last 20 days. On Jan 3, they looted valuables worth over Rs 30 lakh from two temples — Shirdi Sai temple at Bhanjanagar and Maa Budhi Thakurani temple at Jagdalpur under Nimakhandi police limits. No one has been arrested so far.