Burglars struck at the revered shrine of Sheik Syed Abdul Qadir Jeelani, popularly known as Dastgeer Sahib (RA), and decamped with cash.
An official said the incident took place in the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday even as police have constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the incident.
The management of the shrine said they have no idea how much cash has been stolen from the donation box, which is placed at the main entrance of the shrine.
The theft came into the notice of people after some local residents went to offer pre-dawn prayers on Sunday. The incident was reported to police by the management early this morning.
A police official said a case (FIR No 66/2020) has been registered at police station Khanyar. The police guard at the shrine was withdrawn last year. The shrine management has employed some watchmen, who were likely to be questioned by the police.
People have expressed concern over the incident and demanded stringent punishment to the culprits. Many people took to social media and expressed outrage over the theft.
Soon after the incident, police released a video and picture of the thief and sought help from people to identify him.
The police official said police station Khanyar received information from Intizamiya Committee of the shrine that during the intervening night some unknown thieves have attempted to break the donation box for stealing cash from it. “After the commission of crime, the suspected person escaped from the spot,” said the official.
He said the SIT headed by a Deputy Superintendent of Police has been constituted to investigate the case and CCTV footage as well as photographs of the suspect have been collected for the purpose of investigation.
The police have requested general public to share any information regarding the suspected person with Srinagar police on following numbers: 0194-2455049, 7006621918, 9469665786 and 9596760874 or Police Control Room on 112.