The wheels of justice run slowly not only for common people of this country but also for God(s). After a long 29-year wait, Arrah Civil Court ordered the release of an idol of Lord Hanuman from the strong room of a police station in Bhojpur district.
The case began on May 29, 1994 when the idols of Lord Hanuman, an ardent devotee of Lord Rama, and Saint Barbar Swami, both made of Ashtadhatu, were stolen from the Lord Sriranganath Temple in Gundi village under Barhara block of the district.
Following this, Janeshwar Dwivedi, the priest of the then Krishnagarh OP shrine, filed an FIR against unnamed persons, accusing them of idol theft. Police recovered the stolen idols from a well after conducting an inquiry. Since then, the idols had been stored in the strong room of a nearby police station. The Bihar State Religious Trust Board (BSRTB) had also filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Patna High Court, seeking a direction that all recovered idols be returned to the Trust. Following the release order given by ADJ-3 Satendra Singh of the Arrah civil court, devotees staged a grand procession to take the idols from the police station. Both Ashtadhatu statues will be restored to Lord Srirangnath Temple. The battle for the release of the idols was waged by Acharya Kishore Kunal, former chairman of the BSRTB, and Ajit Kumar Dubey, advocate of the Arrah Civil Court. Meanwhile, Krishna Kumar Singh, the head of East Gundi Panchayat, who was leading a grand procession following Lord Hanuman’s release, stated, “Today is a historic day where another Ram Navami festival is taking place. The entire region is experiencing a wave of happiness.” “It is a matter of great pleasure that the deity is being taken out of the Malkhana and installed in the temple where devotees will directly see and worship him,” Krishnagarh OP In-charge Brajesh Singh stated.