DEVI SIDDHESWARI

Idol of Devi Siddheswari untraced

Police are yet to recover the stolen austodhatu-made deity of Devi Siddheswari. Meanwhile, two guards of the Siddheswari temple were suspended and a probe has been started. Armed miscreants have stolen the idol from the Siddheswari temple on early hours of Sunday.

Police sources reportedly got a clue about the theft but they denied disclosing it in the interest of proper inquiry. Senior administrative, police and Debottar Trust Board officials reviewed the matter on Monday. Necessity of beefing up of security measures at the age-old temples in Cooch Behar under the DTB was discussed in the meeting, sources said.

Cooch Behar Heritage Society (CBHS) demanded immediate arrangement of adequate security to save the old temples of the erstwhile Cooch Behar State from the thieves and miscreants. A spokesman of the CBHS said the austodhatu made deity of Lord Madan Mohan was stolen from the historic Madan Mohan temple in Cooch Behar town in 1994 and that was never recovered. He recalled that thefts have been committed at different temples in the past but the authorities failed to get any breakthrough. The Dash-Mahavidya idol of Gosanimari, Madan Mohan idol of Dangar-Aai temple and the deity of Lord Balaram from the temple at Bhuchungmari were stolen. Recently, the thieves committed crime at Madan Mohan temple at Mathabhanga too. CBHS blamed the indifference of the government to save the temples from the criminals.

North East Development Society (NEDA) and Concern for Cooch Behar (CfC) too demanded strict security measures in the temples in Cooch Behar district. They also demanded proper inquiry to recover the stolen idol of Devi Siddheswari.