Precious Relic Stolen from Belur Math at Knife Point

BELUR MATH (HOWRAH): The thief or thieves who stole the priceless relics of Ma Sarada from the Belur Math museum on Tuesday evening knew exactly what they were after. And they may have used a razor blade that sells for Rs 2 in your para paan shop.

The theft had been planned for days, if not weeks, say police, suggesting the mind of a fanatic or the hand of a professional. The glass display that had the three stolen relics also had an oil self-portrait by Ma Sarada that she herself worshipped and some rare photographs of hers but the thief went for only the very personal relics - a tooth, strands of her hair and her prayer beads.

The heist was carried out in a couple of seconds and the only clues left behind are a pair of smudgy fingerprints. The thief hit E-5 window on the first floor of the museum that showcases everyday items used by Sri Sri Ramakrishna, Ma Sarada and his 16 direct disciples, including Swami Vivekananda.

The theft has shocked millions of devotees. Amiya Mukherjee of Shaymbazar, who joined the rush of devotees to the museum on Thursday, stood teary-eyed in front of the glass casket that held the relics. "I rushed here after reading about the theft in the newspaper. This matters a lot to us," he said.

Anita Bramha, who had turned up with her entire family, was anguished. "We are shocked. Ma Sarada is very close to her heart and I have come here so many times to draw solace from her relics," she said.

Police believe the thief mingled with the devotees to plan and carry out the heist. A recce of the museum would have revealed the lack of security - there were no CCTV cameras and few guards.

This is the second theft at Ramakrishna Mission. In 1931, the amulet of Sri Ramakrishna was stolen from here. It has never been found. Neither have the Buddha bust stolen from Indian Museum nor Tagore's Nobel medal. In both the cases, the investigation had passed from the local police to CID and then to CBI but to no avail.

Police believe the thief ran a thin, sharp blade for days through the sliver of gum that held together the glass cover with the box until the cover could be lifted. The light-dark effect used to give the museum an old-world look gave the thief the ideal cover.

The theft was detected at 4.45pm on Tuesday when Swami Bodhisatyanandaji, a senior monk, noticed one of the information cards in the exhibit not in order. "When he looked in, he saw the three exhibits missing," said Swami Shuvokaranandaji of Ramakrishna Mission. "We are probing the case from all possible angles," said Howrah commissioner Ajey Ranade.

The relics were collected after the death of Ma Sarada on July 21, 1920, and were preserved at the global headquarters of the mission. In 2000, they were brought to the museum. But the monks perhaps never thought that someone would steal them and there had never been enough security at the museum.

As many as 1,200 people visit the museum every day but there are just 10 guards, who are all volunteers and have never been trained to protect such priceless artefacts.

The sprawling 34-acre campus has only seven to eight CCTV cameras, but the museum has none. "We recently carried out a survey to bring the museum under CCTV surveillance. But the heist happened before the cameras were installed," said Swami Shuvokaranandaji.

Source: The Times of India, DT. July 19, 2013.