The Holy Cross Chapel in Calangute was broken into and four statues worth Rs 20 lakh were stolen. Not too far away in Candolim, thieves broke into the Siddhivinayak Temple and stole a silver Ganesh statue. Police suspect professionals since they cut through window grills.
This is not the first daring robbery of a church, chapel or temple in Goa. These robberies have been going on for more than a decade now. If history is to be believed, then this spate of robberies will continue and then die down for a while. If the police has to act, then they have to act now. Not too long ago, an alert pujari in Shri Mallikarjun Devasthan happened to be awake when thieves tried to break into the temple in Canacona.
But not every pujari or priest can be awake to thwart
thieves. The government needs to fast track the plan for better
security in religious structures in Goa before everything of
value disappears.
