A gold-plated crown made of silver that was gifted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Jeshoreshwari Kali Temple in Satkhira district on March 27 during his visit to Bangladesh was stolen.

The High Commission of India has expressed concern over this issue.

“We express concern on the incident and urge the government of Bangladesh to investigate the theft, recover the crown and take action against the perpetrators,” reads a verified Facebook post of the High Commission of India on Friday (October 11).

The Jeshoreshwari Kali Temple is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to the Goddess Kali and is located in Ishwaripur, a village in the Satkhira District of southwestern Bangladesh. According to Hindu mythology, the Jeshoreshwari Temple is one of the 51 Shakti Peeths scattered across India and neighbouring countries.

The theft took place on Thursday afternoon. Temple priest Dilip Mukherjee had left the premises following the day's worship. The cleaning staff later found that the crown was missing from the deity's head, Bangladeshi media said.

The local police are reviewing the temple's CCTV footage.

"We are reviewing the temple's CCTV footage to identify the thief," said Inspector Taizul Islam of Shyamnagar Police Station.

The temple’s name, “Jeshoreshwari,” means “Goddess of Jeshore.” According to Hindu tradition, the temple marks the spot where the palms and soles of Goddess Sati’s feet fell, and the goddess is worshipped there as Devi Jashoreshwari.

The temple is believed to have been constructed in the latter part of the 12th century by a Brahmin named Anari, who built a 100-door shrine. It was later renovated by Lakshman Sen in the 13th century and rebuilt by Raja Pratapaditya in the 16th century.

BDST: 1836 HRS, OCT 11, 2024
MSK