Gold and silver jewellery worth around Rs 15 lakh were allegedly stolen by from the 17th century Patneshwar Dham Temple at Dhana village near here.
The incident took place under Surkhi Police Station area on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday when temple priest Shiv Kumar Pyasi was asleep in the nearby cottage, police sources said today.
The thieves made their way into the Ram Darbar and Parvati Goddess temple housed at Patneshwar Dham after breaking eight locks and decamped with the valuables.
Built by Gond ruler, Queen Rani Laxmibai, the Patneshwar Dham Temple is one of the famous Shiva temples of the district.
Temple priest told the police that he found the locks of both the temples broken at around 2 AM on that night when he went there to check the area as per routine schedule.
A case has been registered in this regard and efforts were on to nab the accused, police said.
