Burglary at Rameswaram temple

Burglars entered the Ramanathasamy temple in the early hours of Friday and broke open two hundis in which devotees had placed their offerings. They got away with some 8220;small change8221; and clothes. They also managed to break two of the three locks of the main hundi before the Sri Ramanathasamy Sannadhi, the sanctum sanctorum.

According to Ramanathapuram Superintendent of Police, R Thirugnanam, the burglars entered the Dakshinamurthy shrine inside the temple premises by breaking the iron bars of a ventilator. They slid down the huge pillar to reach the shrine. They broke the lock of the hundi before this shrine, but only got some 8220;small change8221;.

The burglars then headed for the Kasi Vishwanathan shrine and broke open the parivattam the headgear made of silk used to welcome VIPs into the main shrine hundi and stole some clothes from it. Police said the burglars probably fled when they heard the priests and devotees arriving at the temple at about 5.30 am.

Several BJP volunteers staged a demonstration in front of the temple office demanding action against the culprits.