Throughout the duration of Sawan this year, Chhotu, the man visited the temple daily and prayed for a bride, a local said.

Uttar Pradesh: A shocking incident has emerged from Uttar Pradesh’s Kaushambi district in which a man stole a Shivlinga from a temple after Lord Shiva didn’t fulfil his prayers for finding a suitable match. The accused man visited the temple daily throughout the holy month of Sawan and prayed to Lord Shiva for a bride.

But after praying with all faith, he could not find a bride, furious over not getting his fulfilled, the man stole the Shivling from the ancient Bhairava Baba temple and hid it in some bushes not so far away from the temple.

The one-of-a-kind incident, came to light when devotees arrived at the Shiva temple on the last day of Sawan, which fell on August 31. After finding the Shivlinga missing in the temple, devotees informed the police.

After a 10-hour search, the police identified Chhotu as the suspect. During interrogation, he confessed to hiding the Shivling 10-12 steps away from the temple.  Once the Shivling was recovered, the police arrested Chhotu.

Local residents informed the police that Chhotu used to worship Lord Shiva at the temple every evening during the Sawan month and prayed for a bride.

Inspector Abhishek Kumar stated that Chhotu stole the Shivling out of frustration over not finding a bride.