Stolen rare idol from the temple seized at airport in New Delhi  last month yet to be returned to the temple in Jajpur

By AKSHYA ROUT

 Jajpur, Nov 29:   Last month custom officials seized a rare stolen ten -armed   ‘Astadhatu; image of Ma Kotrakhi from the Indira Gandhi international airport , New Delhi which  was stolen last year from  the 200 year old  famous Ma Kotrakhi temple at village Darpanigada under Barachana police station in Jajpur district.  

But the recovered idol is yet to be returned to the santo sanctum of the temple.The ancient  idol was  stolen from  the temple on 11th January 2021 by some idol lifters. Last month, customs officials seized the stolen idol in the airport  after  the  officials of Archeological Survey of India , New Delhi refused to give an NOC to the customs department  for its transport to foreign country as  the idol was   stolen from the temple. 

The custom  department informed us about the seizure . No one has been arrested in the case yet. We are taking proper steps to return the idol back to the temple as soon as possible , said  Rahul P. R, the Superintendent of Police, Jajpur.

News of the discovery of an idol which was  stolen from  the temple  last year , left residents of the village on cloud nine . Now the idol is gathering dust in the customs office in New Delhi. The government should take  urgent steps to return the idol back to the temple, said Udayanath Sahoo, a lawyer of Darpanigada