Temple priest killed, century-old idols stolen

The head priest of a temple was killed and century-old idols, worth lakhs of rupees, were stolen by unidentified miscreants yesterday in Bihar's Begusarai district, police said today.
The robbers beat Mahendra Das alias Muso (70) to death with a baton before fleeing with three idols of Ram, Janki and Lakshman, apparently made of ashtadhatu (amalgamation of eight metals), at Bhagofua village in Naya Gaon police station area of the district, SHO Mukesh Kumar said.
"The exact value of the idols could not be ascertained but villagers claim that the idols were made of ashtadhatu and weighed around 10kg each," he said.

Police have started its investigation in the case, he said, adding that the priest's body has been sent to the sadar hospital for post-mortem.
The Begusarai incident comes two days after another attack on a head priest in Vaishali district. Mauni Baba (65) was shot dead by unidentified people inside the 'Ram Janaki Mutt' temple of the district.