Tamil Nadu   

Temple security in sharp focus

CHENNAI: The theft in the 800-year-old Kapaleeswarar temple in Mylapore on Wednesday night has brought into focus the need to improve security measures in temples.

After preliminary inquiries, officials and temple authorities said the thief might have hidden inside the sanctum sanctorum and committed the offence. The police said it was unusual for a thief to make sure coins do not spill over to the ground while picking the lock open. It was an ordinary lock that was opened, using a screwdriver, police said.

The temple has 16 hundis, each numbered. The hundis are opened once in every 45 days and the donations are accounted for. The last time the hundi was opened was on March 10.

The collection during a 45-day period is approximately Rs. 30,000 in the hundi that was broken open.

The collection is usually low in this hundi because people prefer to drop their offerings in the bigger hundi, after their prayers.

It is the practice of the temple authorities to open all 16 hundis and pool the offerings before it is counted.

The collection for a year from the temple is around Rs. 20 lakh, an official of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments said.

It is customary for a priest to offer the last puja to the main deity at around 9.30 p.m. after which the doors are shut by the night watchman in the presence of a priest.

The day watchman opens the doors in the presence of a temple priest at around 5.30 a.m.

The theft was first noticed by watchman Maan Bahadur and a temple priest, who opened the door to the main deity’s chamber at around 5.30 a.m. on Thursday, said the temple’s executive officer M. Devendran.

The surveillance cameras fitted in the main chambers allow the temple’s executive officer/assistant commissioner to watch the movement of devotees but the technology to record and replay the captured images has not been provided, officials said.

At night, after the doors are locked, the cameras and the lights inside the chambers are switched off.

Hundis of the type found in the temple have been installed in about 250 temples in the city but they have not been made burglar-proof, officials admitted.

A senior officer said the department would connect the hundis to the alarm systems fitted to the doors.

Last year, one theft was reported from a temple in Ponneri. About three years ago, a theft was reported from the Vedanta Desikar Temple in Mylapore. But here too it was not in the nature of breaking open the temple doors, an official of the HR & CE said.

After the investigation, the temple priests performed special pujas during which time devotees were not allowed inside the premises.

Commissioner of Police Nanchil G. Kumaran, who visited the temple, said it seemed to be the work of a first-time offender who took only the money that he could stuff into his pockets.

The police believe the thief may have moved the hundi before breaking it open.

This could explain why the watchman who was doing the night rounds did not hear any unusual sounds from inside the chamber.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Under a roof
All for water
A colourful parade
“Karaikal poised for major development”
Correction
Joyful occasion
Balanced distribution of funds sought
Cremation: kin’s plea to police
Primary Health Centre Day to be observed from April 21
Best ways to look after your Air Conditioner
Dhyana peedam opening
Temple security in sharp focus
‘Assess neutrino project in a fair manner’
CPI functionaries arrested
Family members join relay fast
Protest enters 200th day in Tuticorin
Potential hotspots for backpackers
Gopal acquitted in murder case
3D theatre to come up
Progress of rehabilitation works reviewed
Six artistes to get monthly assistance of Rs.1,000
Centre asked to dispense with on-line trading
“Appoint senior graduate teachers”
Traders’ plea for bridge
Cluster scheme for stone quarries
Scheme to develop skills of narikoravas
Children’s book launch
Mettur level
Close watch will be kept on mischief mongers
Eye camp
Talk
A joyful parade
Escort system fine-tuned
Special buses
Mahotsavam
Traffic policemen’s hazards Law and order
A line gone awry
Underground drainage work to start shortly in Pudukottai
Loan disbursal targets exceeded
Karur-Salem new BG line by 2010
Autorickshaws told to follow regulations
Visually impaired student of city school realises her dream
Two children drown in tank
Three die in accident
Central team visit
“Follow teachings of Mahaveer”
New Assembly complex to have high-rise building
Ennore port to divert iron ore cargo vessels to Chennai port next year
Rail projects need massive funds for completion
IGNOU to set up 100 ‘Knowledge Centres’ in State
“CPI protests not aimed at political realignment”

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu