Shishila: Hunt for treasure; accused escape

Belthnagady: A few unidentified people prospecting for hidden treasure inside a dilapidated Basadi in Shishila village in the taluk were found to have dug the earth inside the Basadi. They had in fact also made use of sorcery in their quest for supposedly treasure and the incident came to light on late Saturday night November 3^rd.

The Basadi in Shishila is known as ‘Matsyateertha’, which the people consider as holy. Some strangers were seen moving around the structure and the locals questioned their motives. The people replied that they had come there for fishing in the river.

However, the locals were suspicious of the people and therefore entered the basadi during the night and found that the stone slab covering a spot had been moved aside and the place had been dug out. They also realized that some black magic procedures had been conducted here to please the spirits guarding the treasure after they saw coconut, vermilion, lemon and fruits near the stone slab.

Later the locals informed Dharmasthala police of their finding. The police visited the spot late in the night and getting clue of police presence, the strangers fled. However, it I learnt that the police have managed to get the registration number of the vehicle used by the strangers. The police have launched an investigation based on the available information.

Meanwhile, the locals have expressed anger at the increase in the number of unidentified people visiting the area for fishing in violation of government order banning fishing in Matsyateertha area.