On Saturday, the priest of Ram Janaki Mandir, Mahant Bittan Das moved an application before Chief Judicial Magistrate of Siddhartha Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh, Sudama Prasad, requesting that the idols be handed over to him. [break]
In his application, Das said the idols were stolen by three persons who had stayed at the temple on March 15, posing as priests from Ayodhya.
The priest said that he had lodged a complaint at Bahadurgunj police station in Kapilvastu.
Five ancient astadhatu idols were seized by the police from Dumariyagunj area of Siddharth Nagar district last Tuesday. The idols, worth millions of rupees, were reportedly stolen from the Ram Janaki Mandir.
The court has directed the Siddharth Nagar police to submit the case details and has fixed a hearing for Monday.
The police had seized the idols — a 29-cm Lord Ram idol, 27-cm idols of Sita and Laxman and two 8-cm idols of other deities — from the Vindyachal Kewat, a resident of Basti, while two of his associates had managed to escape.
On learning about the seizure of idols through newspaper reports, the temple priest and the temple committee president Ram Lothan, accompanied by officers of Bahadurgunj police station, came to Dumariyaganj and identified the idols.
A K Shukla, in-charge of the Dumariyagunj police station, said, “There is no doubt that the recovered idols were stolen from that temple but the idols are now a case property.”
The Nepal’ authorities are, meanwhile, planning to approach the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu for help to get back the idols.
Siddharth Nagar SP Prashant Kumar, meanwhile, refused to comment on the issue saying the matter is sub-judice.
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