Shivling Stolen From Centuries-Old Dwarka Temple On Maha Shivratri Eve, Scuba Divers Deployed

The incident occurred at the Shree Bhidbhanjan Bhavaneeshvar Mahadev temple near the famous pilgrimage site of Harsiddhi Mataji temple.

Separate teams of the local crime branch, special operations group and local police have been formed.

Source : Unsplash

Maha Shivratri: A 'Shivling' was stolen from a centuries-old temple in Gujarat's Devbhumi Dwarka on Tuesday, following which scuba divers were called in and a multi-agency operation was launched.

The incident occurred at the Shree Bhidbhanjan Bhavaneeshvar Mahadev temple near the famous pilgrimage site of Harsiddhi Mataji temple.

The priest was left shocked after finding the Shivling uprooted from its place and stolen along with its base, PTI reported quoting an official. He said the temple door was left open. 

"All other items in the temple were intact in their place," police inspector Akash Barasiya said.

"The base of the Shivling was found lying on the beach nearby, after which a team of scuba divers was roped in to search the stolen Shivling inside seawater as there is a possibility of it being thrown into it," he said.

Crime Branch, Police, Dog Squad Pressed In

Separate teams of the local crime branch, special operations group and local police have been formed along with forensic experts and a dog squad to investigate the case, the police said.

An FIR was registered under section 305 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for theft, and a search operation is being carried out, he said.