Daijiworld Media Network - Beltangady (SP)

Beltangady, Jan 19: Four cattle were stolen from 'Kamadhenu Goshale', a cattle shelter managed by Lord Mahaganapati temple there, on the night of Tuesday January 17. The theft happened in spite of providing the cow shelter with CCTV cameras and a gunman.

An iron gate located in a corer of the shed was found to have been broken open, and three pregnant cows and a bull were found to have been taken away by the thieves. During the last five years, thefts have occurred here five or six times. On January 5, 2016, four well-grown bulls were stolen, locals recollect. Everytime a theft happened, police have been advising those maintaining the shelter about the need to be alert, fix CCTVs, keep CCTVs in proper condition, and appointment of good security personnel.

Dharmasthala police who arrived at Southadka found that all the four CCTV cameras here had stopped functioning long ago, and nothing was done to make them work again. The state government has been releasing funds every year for the maintenance of this shelter and wherever there is shortfall, the temple management also contributes to the maintenance expenses.

After the last theft, as per the instructions of the police, a well-paid gunman had been appointed and CCTVs had been fixed. However, these CCTVs have not provided any clue about thieves so far, and the gunman, surprisingly, came to know about the theft on Wednesday morning.