Fear of the Goddess Becharji

Good old fashioned fear of the Goddess prevented a thief from taking Her valuable artifacts from a bank vault in India: Office boy who robbed bank arrested Thursday, 19 June , 2008, 20:50 Ahmedabad: An office boy suspected of robbing valuables worth Rs 6 million from a bank in Gujarat's Mehsana district has been arrested, the police said on Thursday. The theft took place on Saturday night at Becharji Nagrik Sahakari Bank, a co-operative bank, in the temple town of Becharji, about 90 km from here. The bank's office boy, Hardik Darji, was arrested from Ahmedabad on Wednesday night following a tip-off. Darji had broken open 14 lockers on Saturday night and decamped with valuables worth Rs 6 million. His involvement in the theft came to light when the bank opened on Monday morning. Bank manager Natubhai Haribhai Patel, found that 14 lockers, including those of the Becharji Temple Trust, were broken open and valuables stolen. Darji was missing since the day of the theft. A police official said that the ornaments of Goddess Becharji were found untouched, lying in the broken locker. "It seems the culprit fearing the wrath of the goddess had changed his mind at the last moment," a police official said. "It was the first case of this kind in the temple town of Becharji," said Patel soon after the incident. On Sunday, the police rounded up Darji's brother and his friends for questioning. Darji was nabbed from Ahmedabad on Wednesday night.