Caught on CCTV: Moment when man stole crown Goddess Kali gifted by PM Modi to Bangladesh

A man wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans allegedly entered the Jeshoreshwari Kali Temple in Bangladesh, picked up the religious article – purportedly the crown gifted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bangladesh in 2021 – and left the premises, showed a CCTV footage. According to reports, the crown was missing from the temple on Thursday.

The Daly Star reported on Thursday that a crown of goddess Kali at the Jeshoreshwari Temple in Satkhira's Shyamnagar, which was gifted by PM Narendra Modi, was stolen.

The report cited the temple priest as saying that he left the temple after completing the day's worship around 2:00 pm. Shortly afterwards, the temple's cleaning staff entered to clean the premises. A while later, they noticed that the crown was missing from the deity's head.

Police had confirmed the incident and said that they are reviewing the temple's CCTV footage to identify the thief.

A day later, a CCTV footage was circulated on social media, with reports claiming that the video clip showed the moment when the crown was stolen from the temple. Mint could not verify the video.

Meanwhile, the Indian High Commission in Bangladesh expressed deep concern over the theft and called upon the authorities to recover the article and take action against the perpetrators of the crime.

In a post on X, the high commission said, “We have seen reports of theft of the crown gifted by PM Modi to Jeshoreshwari Kali Temple (Satkhira) in 2021 during his visit to Bangladesh. We express deep concern & urge Govt of Bangladesh to investigate theft, recover the crown & take action against the perpetrators.”

PM Modi had visited the Jeshoreshwari Temple on March 27, 2021, as part of his trip to Bangladesh. On that day, PM Modi had placed the crown on the head of the deity as a symbolic gesture. The temple is one of the 52 Shakti Peeths in Hinduism, the Daily Star reported.