A ‘Shivling’ was reportedly stolen from the ancient Shree Bhidbhanjan Bhavaneeswara Mahadev Temple in Gujarat’s Devbhumi Dwarka district, just a day before the Maha Shivratri festival.

In response, a multi-agency search operation has been launched to recover the stolen object and identify the suspects.

The incident occurred at the Shree Bhidbhanjan Bhavaneeswara Mahadev Temple, located near the Arabian Sea at Kalyanpur. According to local police, the theft was discovered when the priest arrived at the temple and found the door open. Upon inspection, the Shivling was missing, prompting an immediate police notification.

Authorities have confirmed that all other items in the temple were untouched. The base of the Shivling was reportedly found on the nearby beach, leading investigators to suspect that the Shivling might have been thrown into the sea. As a result, scuba divers have been deployed to search the waters.

As per reports, teams from the crime branch, special operations group, and forensic experts are working together on the case, assisted by a dog squad. An FIR has been registered under section 305 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for theft, and the search operation is currently ongoing.

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