Thieves strike at temple premises in Jalandhar

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Phagwara, February 20

Unidentified miscreants entered the residential portion of Shiv Mandir Baba Bhandari in Harkishan Nagar and stole cash worth lakhs and gold items in the wee hours here today.

A woman, Anita Bhandari (67), suffered injuries when the miscreants entered into a scuffle with her. She was shifted to Gandhi Hospital, Phagwara, where she is undergoing treatment. Pawan Kumar Tiwari, caretaker of the temple, also suffered injuries in the scuffle with the miscreants.

Superintendent of Police Rupinder Kaur Bhatti met the injured woman in the hospital. She told the police that her husband Jagjit Bhandari, who constructed the temple, suffered paralysis. They recently sold a plot and kept the money in the residential part of the temple.

She said the suspects beat her up with an iron rod and dragged her to the almirah in which valuables were kept.

It may be mentioned here that the temple has been constructed on the first floor of the building and rooms on the ground floor are used for residential purpose. Jagjit Bhandari is the owner of the temple and resides in the premises along with his wife Anita Bhandari.

Pandit Pawan Kumar Tiwari, a resident of Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, has been the caretaker of the temple for the past two weeks. He also resides in the residential area of the temple along with his family members.

The exact value of the stolen gold and cash is yet to be ascertained. The SP said the police had registered a case against the suspects under Sections 459 and 380 of the IPC.