A 200-year-old 'ashtadhatu' idol of Lord Rama was stolen from Khaki Pipra Mutt in Goriyakothi police station area here, police said. The 'ashtadhatu' (a combination of eight metals) idol, was stolen late last night and is worth several lakhs of rupees, a police officer said.
The thieves fled in a pickup van which was parked in the Mutt premises, he said, adding raids were being conducted to nab them.
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of ancient statues being stolen from temples. Most of the stolen idols were "ashtadhatu" -- an alloy of gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead, tin, iron and mercury besides rare marble, brass and other metals.
The thefts have been reported from Gaya, Bhagalpur, Kishanganj, Vaishali, Begusarai, Saran, Samastipur, Jamui, Nalanda, Rohtas, Sitamarhi and Patna districts.
Except in a few cases, police have been unable to recover the stolen idols.
