Gold crown gifted by Modi stolen from Satkhira Kali Temple

The gold crown on the Kali statue in Satkhira before it was stolen. Photo: TBS

A gold crown gifted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was stolen from Jeshoreshwari Kali Temple at Shyamnagar upazila in Satkhira yesterday (10 October).

India expressed concern over the incident, according to a Facebook post on the official page of the Indian High Commission in Bangladesh.

"We express concern over the incident and urge the Bangladesh government to investigate the theft, recover the crown, and take action against the perpetrators," read the post.

The crown, which was gifted by Narendra Modi on 27 March 2021 during his Bangladesh visit, was stolen at about 2:45pm on Thursday.

The superintendent of Satkhira Police Monirul Islam said that a young man was identified from the CCTV footage. The law enforcement forces are conducting an operation to arrest him and recover the gold crown, he added.

According to locals and those present at the temple, like every day, priest Dilip Kumar Banerjee went home after the afternoon puja, leaving the temple key with Rekha Sarkar, who was in charge of the temple services.

Rekha Sarkar, along with many devotees from different places, were present on the temple premises.

"I went to wash the utensils used during the prayers at the tubewell. When I returned after a few minutes, the crown was gone," said Rekha Sarkar.