Unknown miscreants have cut off a branch of a 110 year old holy tree in Bihar's Bodh Gaya town - where Lord Buddha attained enlightenment 2,550 years ago.
The Gaya district officials and the Mahabodhi temple management committee officials are tight-lipped on the matter.
"We
are looking into the matter," was what a committee official said.
A temple source said over telephone from Bodh Gaya that a branch of the Bodhi tree was chopped off few days ago but it came to light only on Thursday morning.
"When the news spread in the town, monks followed by local people thronged the temple premises. Only then district officials and the temple committee hushed up the issue," the source said.
The Bodhi tree behind the Mahabodhi temple, which grew from the original banyan tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment, saw new leaves after three years last year.
Thousands of Buddhist pilgrims from across the world carry back leaves from the tree.
An official of the Mahabodhi temple, which the Unesco has declared a World Heritage Site, said the Bodhi tree is the sixth regeneration of the original banyan tree.