Ugratara Temple Idol Recovered After Five Months; 6 Thieves Held

GUWAHATI: The recovered golden Idol of Guwahati’s Ugratara Shaktipith was brought back from the court amidst much pomp and celebration among the devotees. The idol from the Shaktipith had been stolen on November 15, 2018 and the recovery of the idol came at a time when the Ugratara mandir committee was supposed to install the newly hewn idol of the Goddess in the temple. Gushing at the miracle, a few devotees commented that it was the goddess’s desire to be returned to her abode and as such, the recovery was made around the time the new idol was supposed to be installed.

Four thieves identified as Saan Hussain (18) of Batchor, Nalbari; Adil Ali (21) of Tihu; Rahul Ali (23) of Makalmuwa and Mintu Rai (26) of Panjabari, Guwahati were arrested in connection with the theft of the golden Idol of Guwahati’s Ugratara Shaktipith. The accused Rahul Ali’s wife was produced before the court on Thursday as some chipped away parts of the idol were recovered from her residence. All of them have been taken into four days judicial custody.

Mintu Rai confessed that he was the one who came up with the plan of robbing the temple and called the others to intimate them about his devious plan. Adil Ali was the one to break the lock and steal the idol. They were attempting to sell it off for around Rs 20 lakh when they were caught after 5 months and 15 days.

Parameswar Sarma, the doloi of the temple, said that this idol had been installed around 975 years back during the Paul dynasty. He further said, “As the idol is a little broken, it will take a little time to repair it. We will install the idol in the temple again after a discussion with the managing committee.”

Talking to The Sentinel in Guwahati, temple managing committee member Kailash Sarma said: “The good news (recovery of the idol) came a day before we’re going to install the new idol in the temple. This can be an indication that the Goddess Herself doesn’t want the installation of a new idol in the temple. That there’s a power governing us has been proved again. Now we’ve put on hold the installation ceremony as the recovered idol needs some sorts of repair. The newly hewn idol will also be installed beside the old one. After such an encouraging development, we’re going to hold the installation ceremony in a bigger way.”

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