Rajnath to seek ATR from Bihar in idol theft case

BIHARSHARIF: Two days after Bihar CM Nitish Kumar assured Jain religious leaders at Rajgir on November 28 that he would expedite action for the recovery of 2600-year-old idol of 24th Tirthankar of Jains, Lord Mahavir, stolen from a temple at Lachuar in Jamui district on November 27 night, Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Monday expressed his concern and solidarity with Jain leaders over the issue and assured them he would seek an ‘action taken report (ATR)’ from the state government in this regard.
Several Jain leaders, including Mangal Pratap Lodha, Hitesh Mohta, Atul Shah and others from Mumbai, on Monday met Rajnath in Delhi to demand expeditious recovery of the idol. Singh expressed his solidarity with the devotees of Jain community over the theft of 6th century BC idol, said Ahmedabad-based Shri Pal Rasik Lal Shah, president of Anandji Kalyanji Trust, a pan-India organization for Shwetambar Jain community.
Speaking to TOI over phone from Patna airport, Shah, who was on way to Lachuar, said Rajnath also assured Jain visitors that the Union government would extend all possible assistance to the state government for the idol’s recovery, if required by the state government.
Meanwhile, Jain leaders and devotees from across the country have started pouring in at Lachuar to offer prayers for the early recovery and reinstallation of the idol, which is believed to have been originally installed at the temple by Lord Mahavir’s elder brother, Nandi Vardhan, some 2,600 years ago.
Kolkata-based Kamal Singh Rampuria, president of Jain Shwetambar Society, which manages Lachuar, Champapuri and Parasnath shrines, told TOI over phone from Lachuar, “A number of Jain leaders and devotees from across the country have arrived here. We are coordinating with police in all possible ways. The district police are doing their best to recover the idol.”
Jamui SP Jayant Kant on Monday said some suspects had been taken into custody for interrogation, but nothing concrete has come out so far. He said intensive search operation has been launched jointly by the district police and paramilitary forces in and around the district.