Raxaul, Aug. 24: The theft of valuables from a Hanuman temple located on the premises of the guesthouse of the Indian embassy has exposed security loopholes in the area.

The colony of the customs department is situated barely 10 yards from the temple. Even the office of Research and Analysis Wing of the central government is located on the same campus.

The articles, including mukut (silver crown), chhatri (parasol) and a pair of kharaun, were stolen on August 11, almost two weeks have passed but the police have not been able to recover any of these items.

The reason behind the incident is believed to be shortage of employees at the embassy. The number of people working here has come down from 12 to just three in the past few years.

A resident of the area said: “A place where so many important offices are located deserves to have more security.”

The priest of the temple, Sanjay Kumar Vajpayee, told The Telegraph that six locks of the temple were broken on the night of August 11 and blamed the lack of security on the campus for the theft.

Raxaul deputy superintendent of police Rajeev Ranjan said: “The theft was a serious incident, more so because it happened on the premises of a government office. The police are investigating the case and we hope to get a lead soon.”