Bhubaneswar, Nov 3: The Ashtadhatu Idol of Maa Kotrakshi, which was stolen years ago, will be reinstalled in the temple at Darpangarh in Jajpur district. It has been possible by the efforts of Union Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed to Union Minister in this regard in response to his letter. The Delhi Customs has been recommended to return the idol to the Maa Kotrakshi Temple in the Jajpur district, Sitharaman told Pradhan.

Notably, Pradhan had written to Sitharaman in this regard on July 14, 2023. In his letter, Pradhan mentioned that an Ashtadhatu idol was detected at Delhi airport last year. Later, it was sent to the Archaeological Survey of India (AsI) for examination. During examination, the ASI knew the idol was of Maa Kotrakshi, the presiding deity of Jajpur. The idol was kept in the Custom Commissioner's office of the New Delhi Air Cargo.

The idol was stolen from Darpangarh on January 11, 2021. A complaint was lodged with the Badachana police the next day. Villagers were very unhappy over the incident.

As police failed to locate and bring back the stolen idol despite locals' continuous agitation and demand, villagers installed another idol of the goddess seven months after the theft.

In the meantime, the information about the seizure of the Maa Kotrakshi idol from Delhi spread. Knowing this, the villagers urged Union Minister Pradhan to bring back the idol and reinstall it in the temple.

Accordingly, the Union Minister wrote to the Union Finance Minister and urged her to direct the Delhi Custom to return the idol to Dharpangarh.

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