Bhubaneswar, Nov. 2 -- A spate of thefts has left the residents of Simulia in Balasore district alarmed, as miscreants carried out two major incidents in quick succession late Saturday night-one involving a series of temple break-ins and another, a brazen bike theft in a busy market area.

In the first heist incident, thieves targeted four temples-Mangala Temple, Radha Krishna Temple, Mahishasuri Temple, and Siddha Basuli Temple-located in Patana village under Anandpur panchayat of Simulia police limits.

The burglars looted gold and silver ornaments worth several lakhs, including idols' crowns, necklaces, silver 'bel patra', Radha Krishna's silver flute, and Goddess Mangala's gold 'mangal sutra', before fleeing the spot under cover of da...