KOCHI: In two separate incidents, burglars made off with 50 sovereigns gold and cash from two temples in North Paravur in the district in the wee hours of Wednesday. According to the police, the burglars entered the sanctum sanctorum of the Thrikkapuram Devi temple and Sree Narayana temple in Kottuvally.
As per the complaints lodged by the temple authorities, a total of 30 sovereigns of gold ornaments adorning the deity at Kottuvally Thrikkapuram Devi temple along with R70,000 in cash was stolen while Sree Narayana temple in the same area lost 20 sovereigns of gold and cash.
At Thrikkapuram temple, the miscreants removed a portion of the roof to enter the sanctum sanctorum but could not find any valuables there. They then went to the temple office where they made off with the loot after breaking the storeroom. The theft at Thrikkapuram came to light when the chief priest entered the temple around 4 am. "On finding that somebody had entered the sanctum sanctorum, he sent an alert to the temple committee secretary, who in turn, lodged a police complaint," an officer said.
An inspection by the police subsequently revealed the thieves broke open three 'bhandarams' or donation boxes outside the temple. Further, they had also broken open the locker inside the temple office and stole the gold ornaments kept inside.
At the Sree Narayana temple, the thieves entered the strong room by breaking open the lock and stole R30,000 in cash in addition to a computer and CCTV camera system. They tried to break open the donation box, but could not succeed in breaking it, said officers.Senior police officers, including Ernakulam Rural SP Rahul R Nair visited the spot. A team led by the North Paravur CI is investigating the case.
