Spring News: A unique case has come to light in Bhojpur district of Bihar. The idol of Lord Hanuman kept in the strong room of a police station here was finally released after a long wait of 29 years. A court in Bihar ordered the ‘release’ of the imprisoned idol after a long legal process.
The case dates back to May 29, 1994, when the idols of Lord Rama’s devotee Hanuman and Ashtadhatu saint Barbar Swami were stolen from the Lord Shriranganath temple at Gundi village under Barhara block. After this, Janeshwar Dwivedi, the priest of the then Krishnagarh OP’s temple, lodged an FIR against unknown thieves alleging idol theft. Police recovered the stolen idols from a well after investigation. Since then these idols were kept in the strong room of a police station in the area.
Bihar State Religious Trust Board had filed PIL
The Bihar State Religious Trust Board (BSRTB) had also filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Patna High Court, seeking a direction to return all recovered idols to the trust. After a long legal battle, the idols were finally released following a court order.
Following the release order issued by ADJ-3 Satendra Singh of Ara Civil Court, the devotees took out a grand procession and toured the entire area to take the idols out of the police station. Both the idols made of Ashtadhatu will be reinstalled in the Lord Shrirangnath temple.
Devotees said – today is a historic day
The battle for the release of the idols was fought by former BSRTB chairman Acharya Kishore Kunal and Arrah Civil Court advocate Ajit Kumar Dubey. On the other hand, Krishna Kumar Singh, head of East Gundi Panchayat, engaged in taking out a grand procession after the release of the idol of Lord Hanuman, said that today is a historic day. The idol of Lord Hanuman has been released on the occasion of Ram Navami.
Krishnagarh OP in-charge Brajesh Singh said, ‘It is a matter of great pleasure that the deity is being taken out from the Malkhana and installed in the temple where devotees will directly see and worship him.’
