Bhadrak: Thieves allegedly broke into Maa Bhadrakali Temple in Odisha’s Bhadrak district late on Sunday and decamped with cash, silver jewellery and copper utensils.

According to sources, the theft came to light when priest Raghunath arrived at the shrine to perform daily rituals on Monday morning and noticed the broken locks on the donation box (hundi) and the store room. Silver jewellery, copper utensils from the storage room as well as cash from the donation box were found missing. He immediately alerted temple authorities and police.

While exact valuation of the stolen goods is still underway, forensic teams and sniffer dog squads have been deployed to scan the temple premises and nearby areas for evidence. “This is an unfortunate incident. All possible steps would be taken to apprehend the culprits at the earliest,” said Bhadrak SP Manoj Rout, who is overseeing the probe.

Incidentally, the theft took place after the conclusion of the three-day ‘Ghoda Melana’ festival at the temple, which draws large crowds of devotees from across Odisha. It is being suspected that the thieves might have mingled with the large crowds during the festival and struck once the event ended when security was relatively relaxed.

To make things worse, CCTV cameras inside the premises were recently removed due to the ongoing repair work. “It seems the thieves took advantage of the removal of CCTVs. We are conducting a detailed assessment of the stolen valuables,” said sub-collector Sourav Chakrabarty, adding that home guards are usually stationed for the temple’s security.