A Ganesha idol, believed to be 1,100 years old, was destroyed after it fell from its location atop Dholkal hill in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district. The Bastar Police suspected the involvement of Maoists, who they believe may have pushed the idol from its 13,000-feet-high spot to stall development work in their stronghold.
Visitors to the site reported that the idol was missing January 26. A search party found the broken pieces of the idol in the forest. The state government then sanctioned Rs 2 crore to develop the area as a tourist attraction after a local journalist discovered the site in 2012. The Ganesh idol is believed to be a remnant of the Nagvanshi dynasty.
“It was a unique idol, and it is a huge loss to the archaeology of Bastar. The region has a history of idol thefts. Many idols are found unattended lying on the roadside and even under the trees,” a local said.
Interestingly, the size of the Ganesh idol keeps increasing every year. Nothing has been ascertained about the miraculous size increase till now.
