Daijiworld Media Network - Parra

Parra, Jan 9: Unidentified miscreants allegedly broke into the Nagnath Mahadev temple at Lingabhat, Parra, on Thursday night and decamped with around Rs 30,000 from the donation box, besides vandalising the idol of Nandi, triggering outrage and distress among devotees and locals.

The temple, located along the busy Calangute–Mapusa road, has witnessed three such theft incidents in recent years. According to temple sources, the accused first locked the temple priest, Manohar Waze, inside his residence situated within the temple premises, before breaking open the door of the sanctum sanctorum.

The incident came to light around 7 am on Friday when the priest arrived at the temple and noticed the damaged door and broken lock. He immediately alerted the temple committee members, who in turn informed the police.

Devasthan president Vasudev Sirsat lodged a formal complaint with the Mapusa police. Police Inspector Naveen Desai, along with a forensic team, visited the spot to conduct an inspection. Police have begun scanning CCTV footage from nearby areas to trace the culprits.

Expressing concern over the repeated incidents, temple committee members blamed the lack of night police patrols in the area. “Earlier, there used to be night patrolling, but it has stopped. This road is busy even at night, and patrolling is urgently required to prevent such crimes,” they said.