Vasant Kunj temple robbed, 1 held

According to temple priest, Babu Lal Shukla, who came here three months ago, the theft was reported by the accused Sanjay, who opens the temple in the morning and cleans it.

Sanjay told the priest that he opened the main gate, then went on to open the second door when he realised that something was amiss. This door has a glass pane through which the faithful can take a look at the Krishna idol. According to Sanjay, the pane had been removed.

The large collection box, a silver Krishna idol and all the gold and silver utensils had been taken.

The robbery was reported by colony president A.N. Saxena.

The police discovered that the grill of a window at the back of the temple had been broken, just enough for one man to fit through. There is a wooded area behind the temple. Meanwhile, temple guard Bhushan Kumar told the police that around 1.30 a.m. he went into the wood to relieve himself. That’s when he saw three men huddled over and breaking the lock of what he thought to be the collection box. When he tried to raise an alarm by blowing his whistle, the men allegedly beat him up, threatened him with country-made revolvers and then gagged him.

Bhushan managed to set himself free and rushed to some nearby flats for help. A resident dialled 100 and the police took Bhushan to the station for questioning. At this point they hadn’t realised that the temple had been burgled. And even till late in the afternoon, the collection box lay in the jungle.

Station House Officer Mohammed Iqbal denied any lapse on the part of the police. The temple is run by the Shankar Narayan Swamy Trust.