Mahavir idol stolen from Jamui shrine

An idol of 24th Jain Tirthankar Bhagwan Mahavir was stolen from Janmasthan temple in Khaira police station area of Jamui district on Friday night.

The temple, located on a hill about 7km from the famous Jain shrine at Lacchuar in Sikandra block of Jamui, is visited by many pilgrims. The 600BC idol, made of black stone (or Kausti Patthar in the local parlance), is said to be highly valuable.

The criminals took away the 37-inch tall idol after uprooting it from the pedestal, police said, adding the temple was currently undergoing renovation.

The temple guard, however, said a dozen masked criminals arrived in vehicles and entered the temple after overpowering him.

Jamui superintendent of police (SP) Jayant Kant said preliminary investigations suggested that no guard was present at the temple at the time of theft. “There are many loose ends in the statement given to the police by the guard,” he said.

The police visited the temple after the incident on Saturday and alerted their counterparts in the neighbouring Nawada district and Giridih district of Jharkhand, apprehending that the criminals could have fled there.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar has ordered a high-level probe into the theft. It prompted an immediate reaction from the top brass — DGP PK Thakur convened a meeting at the headquarters and directed the inspector general, the Economic Offences Unit, and the CID to probe the case.

The theft shocked the Jain community that took to spontaneous fasts across the country. “It was a priceless piece and the symbol of veneration for Jains the world over, especially as it was located at what is known as the Janmasthan temple,” said Pradip Jain, secretary of the Bihar Jain Sangh.