Bihar, April 13: Seven 'ashtadhatu' idols were stolen from a temple at Narghoghi in Bihar, the police said. The SHO of Sarairanjan police station was informed about the missing idols in the morning yesterday. Senior officials, led by the Superintendent of Police Deepak Ranjan, rushed to the Ram Janaki Math temple, Sub-divisional Police Officer (Sadar), Samastipur Tanveer Ahmed said.

The idols were made of 'ashtadhatu' (an alloy comprising eight precious metals) and the role of the head priest and home guards deployed for security was being probed. Locals claimed that the idols of Sita, Rama, Radha, Krishna, Laxman and Hanuman were about 400 years old and worth crores of rupees.

"Sniffer dogs spotted a glove, apparently worn by burglars, inside the quarters of the Mahant (head priest). He was taken into custody for interrogation", the SDPO said.

"Three home guards had been deployed at the temple for its security. Out of them one did not report for duty while the remaining two claimed that they had been held hostage by robbers who decamped with the idols", he said. It was suspected involvement of more people closely associated with the temple since the padlocks were not prised, but opened with the help of keys, he said.