Shimla: In a major breakthrough, the Special Investigation Team has recovered all the idols and other valuables which were stolen from Raghunathji temple in Kullu in December last year, a senior police official said on Friday.
"We have recovered the idols of presiding deity Lord Raghunathji and other antique idols along with stolen jewellery and valuables," ADGP (law and order) Sanjay Kundu said.
The idol of Raghunathji was recovered from Bajaura on border of Mandi and Kullu districts while the idol of Lord Hanuman, a gold plated Narsinh Shila (stone), silver idol of Lord Ganesh, a gold locket and a chain, and some other articles of worship were recovered from Beasa Mor, he said.
The SIT had zeroed in on some suspects and had reliable information that the stolen idols had not been taken out of Himachal Pradesh and intensive investigations helped in detecting the exact location of the places where the stolen idols had been hidden, said Kundu.
The state police had sounded Interpol alert and announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for providing credible information about the thieves and later sketches of some suspects were prepared on the basis of CCTV footage and released to the media.
A prime suspect is reported have fled to Nepal but the police said that more details about the modus operandi adopted by the police in cracking the case would be disclosed tomorrow.
The high profile theft in Raghunathji temple had sent shock waves in Kullu region as Lord Raghunathji was presiding deity of 300 local deities and during the historic Kullu Dussehra festival people pay obeisance to the presiding deity.
The idol of Ragunathji which was supposed to be thousands of years old was brought to Kullu from Ayodhya in sixteenth century and was installed in Raghunathji temple at Sultanpur in Rupi Palace of Raja of Kullu.
The idols were stolen on the intervening night of December 9 and 10, 2014.
