File photo of Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh
Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh's ancestral palace, popularly known as Shanti Rajmahal, in Sarahan here was allegedly burgled, with silver goods worth Rs 2 lakh found missing from the house.
The unidentified thieves broke open the lock of the main door and decamped with around 3 kg of silver goods from different rooms, indicating that they were familiar with the palace, police said on Sunday.
The burglary took place amid tight security as guards were posted in the palace and police force was deployed in strength due to Dussehra festival.
The matter came to notice of the caretaker, Prem Raj, after he reached the palace at 6.30 AM in the morning and found a broken lock, they said.
The stolen articles includes - one silver table lamp, four silver flowerpots weighing 250 gram each and a readymade silver temple, police said.
The caretaker immediately informed the police, which registered a case of house break and theft under sections 457 and 380 of IPC and started investigations in the matter.
The police are yet to identify the culprits and no arrest has been made so far, they said.
Additional DGP (Law and Order) Sanjay Kundu rushed to Sarahan to conduct an inspection of the crime spot.
The palace is close to famous Bhimakali temple, visited by hundreds of devotees every day.
Meanwhile, the opposition BJP attacked the government and state BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti has dubbed it as another glaring example of "deteriorating" law and order in the state.
"How can a common man can have faith in the government when even the ancestral house of the CM is not safe?" Satti said in a statement, adding that "politicisation of police to frame the political opponents in false cases has created this situation and it is high time that the functioning of police is reviewed".
He said that people feel "unsafe" and developmental works have come to a "standstill", and crime against women and children has increased.