Treasure hunters dig up abandoned temple premises

Treasure hunters dug up the premises of the abandoned Ishwara temple, on the outskirts of Lyavigere village in Sagar taluk, and also performed black magic to unearth treasure, early on Saturday.

The temple is believed to be constructed during the rule of the Keladi kingdom.

The miscreants removed stone slabs from the floor and dug a 10 feet deep and 15 feet wide pit.

Some incense sticks, black thread, lemon and turmeric powder used to perform black magic were also scattered.

Sagar Rural police visited the spot and performed mahazar.

In 2015, four gold pendants, a gold coin, a gold armlet and a copper lamp kept in a copper pot were unearthed from a private agricultural land in Lyavigere. Following this, the incidents of digging near abandoned temples have being reported regularly near Lyavigere.

In March 2017, another temple on the outskirts of Iduvalli village here was damaged.

A person was also murdered in a human sacrifice ritual in Anjanapura village near here on March 19.