A thief, who had stolen Lord Krishna’s ornaments from the Gopinath Temple in Odisha’s Gopinathpur, returned them after nine years with a note saying he had been getting nightmares ever since the theft. Interestingly, the thief also paid a fine of Rs 300.
According to a report in News18 Odia, the thief had a bag of stolen items at the front door of the temple in the middle of the night. The bag contained a stolen cap, earrings, bracelet and a flute that belonged to the presiding deities Krishna and Radha. The value of these ornaments are said to be in lakhs.
In the apology note addressed to the priest, Devesh Chandra Mohanty, the thief also left an additional Rs 300 as an atonement along with the jewellery. A report in India Today stated that the man had recently read the Bhagavad Gita and realized the error of his ways.
In 2014, a massive theft took place at the temple, in which the deities’ silver flute, umbrella, crown, silver eyes, plate and watch were stolen. At that time, the villagers had filed a complaint at the Lingaraj police station.
When the stolen items were not found after days of search, the villagers had given up all hopes. However, after the return of the ornaments, there were celebrations in the village, the News18 Odia report stated.