The trust officials are tight-lipped; photography is not being allowed; and the idol itself has been covered with white cloth.

It was Shire Poojari Nana Lal of the Moti-Tuk shrine which houses the idol who first noticed the damage. Lal said it might have happened between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Thursday.

He said he was about to perform abhishek when he observed a crack in the lower half of the 300-year-old idol. A closer look revealed that there was another crack near the neck.

Lal said he immediately rushed to inform the Anandji-Kalyanji Trust in Palitana and returned with officials only to find the idol detached from the pedestal and its head on the ground. Trust member Bhavesh Seth said it was impossible for a layman to tell if it was an accident or an act of vandalism.

Some pilgrims believe the idol was vandalised, and that differences between the Shwetambar and Digambar branches of the community over the Samvatshikhar issue had led to this. But trust president Shrenik Kasturbhai said this was unlikely, as Digambars too worship Lord Mahavir after all.

Kasturbhai said the ``unfortunate incident'' was either sacrilege or an accident.

The damage to the statue was similar to that suffered by the Ranakpur shrine in Rajasthan some months ago but the circumstances were different, Kasturbhai said. ``There were nine other idols here, but none else was damaged''.

And not wanting to court controversy, he said the idol could even have been accidentally damaged by devotee performing pooja.

Deputy inspector-general Rajan Priyadarshi, who is investigating the case, said the same: accident or vandalism, nothing more. A forensic expert added that there was no tool mark on the idol.