Karkala: In an interesting turn of events, thieves barged into Shri Mahalingeshwara temple in Miyaru and escaped with Rs 70,000 cash here on Monday night. The theft merely involved emptying of the cash box which was opened using a gas cutter.
The temple coming under Renjala, Irvattur, Miyaru, Mudaru and Nallur villages is under the supervision of government. Once in three months, the cash box is emptied by the temple officials. The collection approximately goes upto Rs 1.5 lakhs it is said.
The locals and police suspect that an insider might have been involved in the theft because, while the cash from the offering box has been stolen, other valuables like gold and silver have remained untouched.
DySP Vinay Naik, Circle inspector G.M.Naikar and SI Imran have visited the temple and are further investigating the case. Temple officials Madhava Kamath, Sathendra Kamath, Vishwanatha Hegde Nallur, Raghunatha Shetty and Temple priest Haridas Bhat were present at the spot.
