BIHARSHARIF: An idol of Lord Parasnath, the 23rd Jain Tirthankar, was found broken into pieces in a temple in the Vaibhavgiri hill at Rajgir on Saturday morning.

Earlier in Npovember last year, an ancient idol of Lord Mahavir, the 24th Tirthankar, was stolen from a temple at Lachhuar in Jamui district. The idol was later recovered from the jungle of Jamui and reinstalled in the temple.

Patna-based Jain Sangh president Pradeep Kumar Jain expressed shock and grief over the Rajgir incident. "Lord Parasnath, the 23rd Tirthankar, is highly revered by Jains. We condemn the way the idol was broken," he said and demanded action against the miscreants involved in the incident.

Ahmedabad-based Jain leader Sripal Rasik Lal Jain, who heads the Anandji Kalyanji Trust that manages Shwetambar Jain shrines across the country, also expressed anguish over the incident and demanded stern action against the miscreants.

Nalanda SP Kumar Ashish said it prima facie appeared that the miscreants broke the precious 115-kg idol when they could not carry it. "Police have identified the miscreants. They will be arrested soon," he said.