Police clueless on Jharkhand idol theft

RANCHI - Police remained clueless Saturday over the theft of a three-century-old idol of goddess Chhinmastika from Rajrappa temple in Jharkhand’s Ramgarh district even as steps were initiated to replace it with a new one.

Two artisans from Rajasthan reached the state to construct the new idol from black stone in the next 10 days.

A decision to reconstruct the idol was taken in a meeting of the temple committee Saturday which was attended by religious heads.

Prayers at the temple have been suspended since the theft Friday and are likely to resume when the new idol is in place.

The idol of goddess Chhinmastika, made of precious stones, was found missing when the priests opened the temple at 4 a.m. Friday to perform prayers.

Both eyes of the idol were made of gold. The idol was stolen along with 40 kg silver robes and other jewellery.

Police remained clueless about the stolen idol. They have questioned four people. A team has also been sent to Purulia district of West Bengal.

The police suspect the role of antique smugglers in the incident.

Jharkhand Governor M.O.H. Farook directed top state officials to beef up security at temples.