Hem Dulal

Kathmandu, April 3:

A 400-year-old idol of Shankar Narayan was stolen from the main gate of the heavily guarded Pashupatinath temple last night. Pashupatinath temple is one of the seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites located in the Kathmandu valley.

Even though a police beat is situated nearby, nobody came to know about the theft of the two-and-a-half feet tall idol until a construction worker reported it to the police.

“I noticed that the idol was not in its place at around 1pm and I immediately informed the police,” said the worker.

The 17th-century granite idol of Shankar Narayan was installed just behind the Shankar Narayan Satal, which lies exactly on the right side of the main gate of the Pashupatinath temple. Police personnel from Pahara batallion of Nepal Police are responsible for the security on the premises of the temple. Besides the five-member police beat, the Pashupati Area Development Trust has deployed 18 securitymen for maintaining security around the temple. Shyam Ramtel, who runs a tea-shop at the Pashupatinath area, said the precious idol was not protected properly.

Shekhar Koirala, inspector at the Gaushala Ward Police Office, said the police have taken around 30 persons into custody for interrogation.

Despite repeated attempts, PADT officials couldn’t be contacted for comments.