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Silver crowns, gold nosering stolen from Shimla’s Sankat Mochan temple: Police
Police said that a thorough investigation is on, and efforts are ongoing to identify the person(s) involved in the theft; preliminary investigations suggest that a suspect was captured on CCTV footage
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An unidentified individual stole three silver crowns belonging to the deities from the inner sanctum (garbhagriha) of the Sankat Mochan temple in Shimla, along with a gold nose ring (nath) of Goddess Sita weighing approximately one tola, police said on Sunday, adding that cash was also stolen from the temple’s donation box.
In this regard, a case has been registered at the West Police Station, Shimla district, under Sections 331(4) and 305(D) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Further investigation into the matter is underway.
Police said that a thorough investigation is on, and efforts are ongoing to identify the person(s) involved in the theft. Preliminary investigations suggest that a suspect was captured on CCTV footage. The police are sharing the image of this individual with the public.
Sankat Mochan Temple is Shimla’s second most visited Hanuman temple after Jakhu Temple. Sankat Mochan Temple was established in 1950 by Neem Karoli Baba, after he spent 10–12 days in the forest area.
While meditating, he got some instinct that Hanuman temple should be built on the site. Baba told his wish to his followers and eventually, in the year of 1962, the then lieutenant governor Bajrang Bahadur Singh and other followers started the construction of the temple.
The idols of Ram, Sita, Lakshman, Shiva and Ganesh were also established in the temple. The temple was inaugurated on June 21, 1966. Gradually the temple gained a lot of popularity and faith and is visited daily by locals as well as tourists who visit Shimla.
