Idols seized in UP district stolen from Nepal temple

In his application,the priest,Mahant Bittan Das,said the idols were stolen by three persons who had stayed at the temple on March 15,posing as priests from Ayodhya.

He said that he had lodged a complaint at Bahadurganj police station in Kapilvastu district of Nepal.

The court has directed the Siddharth Nagar police to submit the case details and has fixed a hearing for Monday.

The police had seized the idols — a 29-cm Lord Ram idol,27-cm idols of Sita and Laxman and two 8-cm idols of other deities — from the Vindyachal Kewat,a resident of Basti,while two of his associates had managed to escape.

On learning about the seizure of idols through newspaper reports,the temple priest and the temple samiti president Ram Lothan,accompanied by officers of Bahadurganj police station,came to Dumariyaganj and identified the idols.

“On discovering the theft,we informed the in-charge of Behrani outpost located on the India-Nepal border outpost,” said Lothan,who runs a medical shop in Kapilvastu.

“When we saw the photographs of idols and the arrested man in a newspaper,we informed the Bahadurganj police station who later sent an officer with us to Siddharth Nagar to support our claim,” said Lothan.

Mahant Bittan Das’s advocate Ramesh Kumar Pandey added: “Mahant has requested the court to hand him the custody of idols and has assured that he would produce these before the court whenever required. He also identified the person from whom the idols were seized.”

In support of his claim,the Mahant has submitted letters from Kapilavastu

SP Sharad Chand and District Administrative Officer Shambhu Prasad Gama. The FIR of the theft was also submitted with the application,said Pandey.

A K Shukla,in-charge of the Domariyaganj police station,said,“There is no doubt that the recovered idols were stolen from that temple but the idols are now a case property.”

The Nepal’ authorities are,meanwhile,planning to approach the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu for help to get back the idols.

Siddharth Nagar SP Prashant Kumar,meanwhile,refused to comment on the issue saying the matter is sub-judice.

The Ram Janki Mandir is located about 15 kms from the border in Virat Nagar locality of Kapilvastu.