Maha: Devotees protest against cops' failure to trace stolen idols of Lord Ram in saint Ramdas' village

Devotees held a protest in Jamb village in Maharashtras Jalna district on Tuesday against the failure of the police to recover the ancient idols stolen from the Lord Ram temple on August 22. These idols were believed to be consecrated in the temple in 1535 A.D. and worshipped by Sant Ramdas, a contemporary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Devotees held a protest in Jamb village in Maharashtra's Jalna district on Tuesday against the failure of the police to recover the ancient idols stolen from the Lord Ram temple on August 22. Members of the Muslim community also joined the demonstration in support of the devotees in the village located in the Ambad tehsil.

On August 22, ten idols of Lord Ram, Goddess Sita, Lord Laxman, and Lord Hanuman made up of five metals were stolen from the Ram temple in Jamb, the birthplace of the 17th Century saint Samarth Ramdas. These idols were believed to be consecrated in the temple in 1535 (A.D.) and worshipped by Sant Ramdas, a contemporary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Devotees led by former Shiv Sena MLA Shivaji Chothe alleged that even after eight days of the crime police have failed to nab the culprits and demanded that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) be set up. Women of the Jamb village didn't cook food on Tuesday as a mark of protest. On Monday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde spoke with Swami Bhushan, a seer from the Ramdasi order, on the phone and assured him that the police would not leave any stone unturned to trace the stolen idols.