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A Shivling was reportedly stolen from the historic Shree Bhidbhanjan Bhavaneeswara Mahadev Temple in Gujarat’s Devbhumi Dwarka district, just one day before the Maha Shivratri festival.
Multi-Agency Search Operation Launched
Following the theft, a multi-agency search operation was initiated to recover the missing Shivling and track down the culprits.
The incident occurred at the Shree Bhidbhanjan Bhavaneeswara Mahadev Temple, situated near the Arabian Sea in Kalyanpur. The theft was discovered when the temple priest arrived and found the door open. Upon inspection, he realized that the Shivling was missing, leading him to immediately inform the police.
#WATCH | Devbhumi Dwarka, Gujarat | SP Nitesh Pandey says, “Priest of Bhidbhanjan Bhavaneeshvar Mahadev temple informed police that someone had stolen a ‘Shivling’ from the temple. Teams have been formed, and an investigation is going on. There is a possibility that someone might… pic.twitter.com/zXoY8aswsW
Advertisement · Scroll to continue— ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2025
Other Temple Items Left Untouched
Authorities confirmed that no other items in the temple were disturbed. The base of the Shivling was found on a nearby beach, leading investigators to suspect that the Shivling may have been discarded into the sea. Consequently, scuba divers have been deployed to search the surrounding waters.
Teams from the crime branch, special operations group, and forensic experts are working together on the case.
A dog squad has also been deployed to assist in the investigation. An FIR has been registered under section 305 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for theft, and the search is ongoing.
