SANKHUWASABHA: Historical artifacts had been stolen from a stupa more than 100 years old in Bala area at ward 2 of Silichong Gaunpalika last Saturday night. Thieves who broke into the stupa took everything other than a statue of Buddha.

Following the theft, Sisuwatar area police office deployed officers for securing the stupa which was in a dilapidated condition after the breaking.

But despite the security, the statue which was left behind on Saturday got stolen on Sunday, TRN reported.
“The statue was found missing today morning.

It is suspected to have been stolen when the two police officers deployed at the site had gone for dinner in a nearby house,” said Mohan Samsher Kulung, chairperson of ward 2.

Two stupas in Bala were broken on the same day. Locals say there were valuable artifacts inside the stupa for which the thieves broke into.

“Established in 1979 B.S., our ancestors said the stupa had coins, gold, silver and other valuable things of that time,” said Kulung.

As pert the locals, theft has been occurring time and again in the area but police have not done anything to mitigate it by arresting the thieves.

Thieves involved in stealing a computer from Bala Secondary School years ago to a motorcycle from Silichong Gaunpalika office two weeks ago, none have been arrested by the police. According to locals, the police even have CCTV footage of the motorcycle being stolen.

“With none of the theft cases being solved by police, individuals involved in the theft and with criminal mindset are undeterred,” said Indra Bahadur Kulung, a local.

When questioned about the complaints from locals regarding police incapability of arresting the thieves, chief of Sankhuwasabha police Deputy Superintendent of Police Mim Bahadur Lama said, “The investigation is not going smoothly due to lack of enough manpower. However, sooner or later the culprits will be arrested.”