HOWRAH, July 18, 2013: Holy relics of Maa Sarada, including strands of her hair, teeth and rosary beads, have gone missing from the museum within the Belur Math premises. The theft was detected on Tuesday evening and a complaint has been lodged with Bally police station. 

Spread over forty acres, Belur Math houses temples dedicated to Ramakrishna, Sarada and Swami Vivekananda besides the museum which has relics belonging to the three. 

According to police sources, the theft was noticed during an inspection by the monks on Tuesday evening. "It is a routine inspection done every evening after the visitors have left," said an official. 

More than a thousand visitors throng the Belur Math complex every day. 

"We have received complaints regarding the missing relics. We are investigating the case," Howrah police commissioner Ajey Ranade said. 

The museum, situated near the main office of the Math, is well guarded. The relics were kept in a transparent glass box. "Every day thousands of devotees come here to pay their respects," the official said. 

A team of CID officials has already inspected the complex. "We are investigating if there were any guards inside the museum," the official said. Police have recorded statements of the guards, and the monk who first noticed the theft. 

There are no CCTV cameras installed on the Math premises. A survey is now on to assess the number of cameras required to enhance security at the Math. 

The Belur Math theft is the latest in a line of high profile heists in the state in the recent past. In 2004, Tagore's Nobel Prize medal was stolen from Visva Bharati University. The same year, a 5th-century sandstone half bust of Lord Buddha was stolen from the Indian Museum in Kolkata.

Source: The Times of India, DT. July 18, 2013.