Police have filed an FIR after several lights mounted along the Bhakti Path and Ram Path in Ayodhya allegedly went missing.
Shekhar Sharma, a native of Haryana but working in Ayodhya, has complained to the police that as many as 3,800 bamboo lights and 36 gobo projector lights have gone missing.
According to Sharma, “These lights were mounted on trees and poles. However, since May I have noticed that their numbers had started to fall”.
The Bhakti Path is a road leading to the Ram Mandir—connecting Shringar Ghat to Hanuman Garhi and then finally to the temple. Shops and residences along this 742-metre road have been painted saffron to give it a distinctive look. Important landmarks like Kanak Bhawan and Dashrath Mahal fall on the way.
The Bhakti Path intersects with the Ram Path, a 13 km long four-lane highway which links Sadatganj to Naya Ghat.
Sharma’s FIR says that he is an employee with Yash Enterprises and Krishna Auto Mobile, a firm which was given the task of putting up 6,400 bamboo lights on the Ram Path and 96 gobo lights on the Bhakti Path. While the former are largely decorative, the latter are mostly flood lights.
The FIR says that slowly the number of lights has reduced. “Unknown people have stolen the lights,” reads the report.
Sharma refused to comment on who the culprits could be. “My report is not because of any business interest but because I am a concerned citizen. I might be a temporary resident of Ayodhya but I have my duty towards the city,” he said.
A detailed inspection of the number of lights was done on May 9 this year. However, Sharma did not say why it had taken so long to file the report.
There is speculation that the firm responsible for mounting the lights had actually put up fewer lights than what it had been contracted for and thus the FIR is an effort to divert attention.
The FIR has been filed at the Ram Janmabhoomi police station.
