3 temples robbed in as many months

“It looks like the temples in Panchkula are the latest target of thieves and the police are left groping in dark. The police need to zero in on the culprits as early as possible,” said a member of Resident Welfare Association in Sector 8. “If the temples are not safe,how can the residential localities be safe?” he asked.

In the latest theft,at Gauri Shankar temple in Sector 17,CCTV cameras installed inside the temple caught the two individuals in the act of theft. The CCTV footage showed that the burglars had covered their faces partially. In another case the watchman of the Harihar temple in Sector 12A,had switched off the CCTV and therefore no footage was available when the theft took place. In another theft,no CCTV was installed at the temple.

“We are investigating all these cases and so far no arrests have been made,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police,Panchkula Maneesh Chaudhary. “In the robbery of Gauri Shanker temple,we have got crucial evidence and we are working on it. In the other two cases,there was no CCTV evidence and the watchmen are responsible. We are trying to trace the culprits,” he said.

Police sources said that they suspect one or two gangs behind these temple thefts in Panchkula. “In all the three cases,the burglary was done along the same pattern. These thefts took place during the night and the watchmen,in all the cases,were not at their duties,” said a police officer. “We suspect that the thieves do surveillance of a religious place before targeting any temple.”

There are nearly 30 temples in various sectors of Panchkula. Except for the famous Mansa Devi temple,all of them are managed by local temple bodies. After the theft in November,the police had advised all managing bodies of the temples to install CCTV and deploy private security guards to ensure the security of the temples.

The residents also believe that the various temple bodies should ensure the security of the religious temples. “The temple bodies should ensure a proper security system so that no miscreant can come and take away articles from the temple,” said the General Secretary of Panchkula Resident Welfare Federation,Subhash Papneeja.