Striking yet again within two months, burglars reportedly sneaked into the Shri Dev Bodgeshwar temple in Mapusa in the wee hours of Monday, tied a security guard to a chair and decamped with more than Rs 10 lakh in cash from two donation boxes. It is pertinent to note that in the recent past several theft cases have been reported wherein temples have been targeted by the burglars. Since the security guard at the Mapusa temple was attacked, it appears that the presence of security personnel does not act as a deterrent to burglars. It is pertinent to note that several temples across the country have resorted to digital payment of donations and internet banking. Having the age-old custom of placing donation boxes for the devotees to drop their offerings is an open invitation for burglars. This tradition needs to be replaced by digital payment apps integrated into point-of-sale (PoS) terminals and QR payment options. Of late digital payment has seen a huge surge in Ayodhya where QR payment mode has seen a meteoric rise. Digitization of payment of donations will go a long way in preventing theft at the temples in Goa.
