In MP, minor steals money from temple to feed starving siblings

Bhopal: A heartrending incident in which a 12-year-old girl in a Madhya Pradesh village was “constrained” to steal money from a donation box at a temple in her locality to feed her starving siblings has shaken the state administration.

The minor girl, a native of Raheli village in Sagar district, was detained and later sent to juvenile correction home in the neighbouring Shahdol district after she was caught on CCTV stealing money from the donation box, the police said on Tuesday.

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath, who intervened after the matter came to his notice, took to Twitter on Tuesday to express his agony over the incident and announced financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh for the poverty-stricken family of the girl.

He has also ordered the authorities concerned to ensure that the family gets benefits under various welfare schemes of the government and the children are provided education.

According to the police, the girl had taken charge of cooking at home after her mother passed away a few months ago and had gone to a flour mill in the village to process two kg of wheat grain given to her by her father on Saturday.

The girl was shocked to find later that the bag full of wheat she had kept in the mill was stolen.

The minor broke then into the temple later in the evening and stole Rs 250 from the donation box of the shrine.

She spent Rs 180 to procure what and put the rest Rs 70 in her bag.

Later, the police arrested her following a complaint of theft in the temple.

She was produced before a local juvenile court which sent her to juvenile correction home at district headquarters of Shahdol in MP.

Sagar district collector Priti Mathur said arrangements have been made to secure bail for the girl and her safe return to home.