This story is from November 28, 2020

Thieves escape with money meant for priest’s ‘samadhi’ in Bihar

Ramji Das, an elderly priest of a temple in Siwan district, lost the money, which he had collected for years together for his ‘samadhi’ (last rites) as per Hindu rituals.
Thieves escape with money meant for priest’s ‘samadhi’ in Bihar
Representative image
PATNA: Ramji Das, an elderly priest of a temple in Siwan district, lost the money, which he had collected for years together for his ‘samadhi’ (last rites) as per Hindu rituals.
To his utter surprise, Das, who is in his late 70s and not keeping well, found Rs.50,000 missing from the almirah of the Bhootnath temple located on the premises of Guthani block headquarters in Siwan district early on Friday morning.
Das immediately called some local residents and showed the broken almirah in which he had safely kept the cash earlier. The residents, in turn, informed the Guthani police station, which sent a team for investigation into the theft of the cash.
“Everything was fine when I went to bed after having my meal at night. When I woke up early in the morning for prayers, I found the almirah broken,” he told the investigating officials.
The priest said that he had never dreamt that the thieves would take away the money he had saved for his ‘samadhi’ (last rites). “I am not keeping well for the last few months. So I decided to keep the cash on the shelf of the almirah,” he revealed.
The SHO of Guthani police station Manoranjan Kumar said that raids were on to nab the miscreants involved in the incident. A forensic team also visited the spot and collected samples of fingerprints from there, he added. The police have, however, failed to make any breakthrough in the case so far.
The locals, on the other hand, suspected the involvement of some drug addicts who used to assemble near Matikorwa roundabout every day in the evening. “It may be the handiwork of some drug addicts, who were aware of the priest's last wishes,” a local resident Satyendra Pathak said.
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