Hyderabad, June 23 (IANS) A major theft has taken place at the Mahakali temple within the premises of the famous Gnana Saraswathi temple at Basar in Telangana’s Nirmal district, officials said on Tuesday.

Two unidentified men broke open the temple gate late on Monday night and made off with a silver crown and the ‘hundi’ (temple offering box). They took out cash from the ‘hundi’ and dumped the empty box near the temple.

The theft came to light early Tuesday morning when priests reached the temple for puja.

Temple officials informed the police. Senior officials rushed to the spot and launched an investigation.

The CCTV footage shows two masked men entering the temple. Clues team and dog squad were also pressed into service as part of the investigation.

According to temple officials, the silver crown weighs around one and a half kilogram.

Following the incident, temple officials postponed the counting of offerings by devotees.

District Superintendent of Police Janaki Sharmila, Mudhol MLA Rama Rao and other officials visited the temple.

Gnana Saraswati is one of the major temples of Telangana. Situated on the banks of the sacred river Godavari, which is also revered as the “Dakshina Ganga” (Southern Ganges), the temple boasts a glorious history spanning thousands of years.

According to the legend, following the Kurukshetra War, Veda Vyasa came to reside on the banks of Godavari at Basara and during his stay, he sculpted and consecrated the idols of goddesses – Gnana Saraswati, Mahalakshmi, and Mahakali. From then, Basara gained popularity as a holy site with the enshrine of “Trimataas”.

In April, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy laid the foundation for the temple’s expansion and development works to be undertaken at a cost of Rs 225 crore.

Meanwhile, a theft has also occurred at a temple in the Nandyal district of Andhra Pradesh, with the ‘Hundi’ stolen from the Sri Satyanarayana Swamy Temple in Koilakuntla. According to police, a masked man entered the temple around midnight and escaped with the ‘Hundi’.

The CCTV cameras in the temple premises recorded the theft.

Police have registered a case on the theft incident and launched an investigation to track down the accused.

–IANS

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