Ayodhya: Idol thefts, Culture dept seeks CBI probe

Lucknow, May 30: Alarmed by a recent spurt of thefts of age old idols in the temple town of Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh culture department has demanded a CBI probe into the 'conspiracy.' The State Culture Department has also written a letter to the State Home Department about its concern over the theft of idols and demanded a CBI probe into the issue.

In the letter, recently sent to the State Government the State Culture Department at Ayodhya said ''The thefts have been taking place in old temples at a regular interval but of late there has been a spurt of these incidents.'' The letter adds, ''The local police do not have the expertise to investigate the cases in which organised interstate gangs may be involved.'' According to an official of Ayodhya Research Institute(ARI), engaged in researching issues relating to Ayodhya, between March, 2005 and March, 2006, 24 cases of thefts were reported. Between March, 2006 and March 2007, over 20 cases were recorded in which 56 idols were stolen.

Unfortunately, four incidents of theft have taken place in March -April,2007 of which none has been solved.

Some of the thefts have robbed the temples of their place in history. In Begunganj, an old Muslim lady had set up a Ram temple and got an eight-metal idol installed inside it sometime in 1850.

''The idol was stolen eight months ago but the police could not recover it as yet,'' another official alleged.

According to Mr A P Gaur, Assistant Director, Department of Culture, who is now stationed at Ayodhya, most of the 3000-odd temples(excluding the household temples)in Ayodhya had idols made of eight metals (asthdhatu), brass, bronzes copper and black -stones. Quite a large number of these idols were over 200 years old.

''Thefts of idols in the temples have been common in Ayodhya-Faizabad zone. There has been a recent spurt but we are investigating all the cases with full intensity,'' said A K Asthana, city Superintendent of Police, Ayodhya. In some cases, idols were broken to fan unrest.

An investigating officer who made a breakthrough in a 2-year-old idol theft case said the theft of idols would not be possible without the help of temple insiders. ''In most cases, either the priests are involved or the theft had taken place due to rivalries between two temple heads,'' he said. The stolen idols which were sold outside became difficult to recover as the metal was melted quickly after it changed hands.

Mr Gaur, who is also responsible for implementing the Antiquities Act by registering the idols, further said, ''Often the temple heads are not willing to register the idols under the act on some plea or other. We are carrying out a campaign asking the priests and Mahants to cooperate in notifying the idols with the Antiquity Registrar and get a certificate.'' This exercise would at least help the department to keep a record of the antiquities in Ayodhya and put pressure on the police to recover the lost idols.

Vijay Ram Das, 52-year-old Mahant of Ram Janki temple was dum-struck when he walked into a sprawling century-old temple complex on the morning of April 4.

That day he found the sanctum-sanctorum ransacked by invaders and at least 21 of the idols - one of them made of expensive eight metals(astadhatu)-were missing.

Similarly on March 31, Lallu Pandit, priest of Thakur Ramjanki temple in Dilidarwaja area, just 3 km from Ayodhya's Ramjanmabhumi premises, was shocked when he found the temple's gate broken and precious two-hundred-year-old brass idol missing from the temple.

UNI