Antique idols stolen from temple

Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 12

A day after religious places were opened after 170 days, ashthdhatu (made of eight metals) idols of gods and goddesses were stolen from the ancient temple of Mundaghat near Junga, 25 km from here on Friday.

The value of the idols is stated to be about Rs 4.5 lakh but villagers said they were ancient and invaluable.

The incident came to light when the temple priest, Ganga Ram, opened the doors and found that the idols of lord Hanuman, Radha-Krishna, Nand-Gopal and Shiv-Parvati were missing.

He said he informed the villagers, who called the police. Agitated villagers asked them to arrest the culprits as soon as possible and recover the idols. A case has been registered under Sections 457 and 380 of IPC and investigation is under way.