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Theft at Ajnala temple; sacrilege angle being probed, say cops
Though preliminary probe points to theft, the SIT formed to probe the incident at Ajnala temple is also looking into possible sacrilege bid
Days after two sacrilege bids at the Golden Temple and in Kapurthala, another incident of alleged desecration was reported at a temple in Amritsar’s Ajnala on Wednesday. Though preliminary probe points to theft, a special investigation team (SIT) formed to probe the incident is also looking into possible sacrilege bid.
The incident took place at Sri Lakshmi Narayan Temple in a densely populated area of Ajnala town on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday. The temple’s priest, Swami Satya Akash, said the incident came to light when he woke up around 5am. His room was locked from outside and he had to call a neighbour, he said.
The miscreants who had barged into the temple fled with gold and artificial jewellery from idols, a motorcycle and around ₹1 lakh from donation boxes. Meanwhile, the premises was ransacked and two idols were left broken, said the priest. As the news spread, many Hindu and Sikh organisations gathered outside the temple, demanding the arrest of the accused.
Deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Ajnala, Jasvir Singha, who is heading the SIT, said: “We are examining CCTV footage of the area. We have also been using our technical experts to trace the location of the accused. Our preliminary investigation has suggested that the accused had entered the temple with a motive of theft. We are also probing the sacrilege allegation and hope to nab the accused soon.”
A case under Sections 457 (house-trespass), 380 (theft in dwelling house), 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against the unidentified persons at the Ajnala police station.
