Ancient idol stolen; Rajnath Singh calls up Nitish

A precious 2,600-year-old idol of Lord Mahavir was stolen from a Jain temple in Jamui following which Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh has called up east-Indian state Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to enquire about the progress of the investigations.

The ancient idol of Lord Mahavir, weighing 250 kg and worth several crores, was stolen from a Jain temple near Lachuar village in Bihar’s Jamui district on Friday night.

The black stone statue at the temple, which is under the protection of Archaeological Survey of India, had no police security, official sources said.

In a telephonic conversation with Kumar on Saturday, Singh enquired about the incident, the sources said.

The Chief Minister briefed the Home Minister and conveyed to him that police investigation was going on to recover the idol and arrest the culprits responsible for the crime.