Jumla headquarters Khalanga has remained shut for the past three days as locals resorted to protest demanding government probe the robbery at Chandannath temple. Twenty-eight idols, some of them believed to be as old as 1,400 years, including that of the main deity Dattatreya, were stolen from the temple on Saturday night.

Chandannath, a revered Hindu temple, is a major tourist attraction in the Karnali region. It is said that Chandannath Baba, an ascetic, had brought various idols and installed them at the temple in 1855.

Locals staged protest at Khalanga demanding a formation of high level probe committee. As a result, all government offices in the area have remained shut.

Local political parties, issuing a press statement demanded for immediate investigation saying that the robbery took place due to the carelessness and callousness of the local administration, police and temple trust management committee.

Meanwhile, a probe team under AIG Bigyan Raj Sharma comprising of DIG Madhav Nepal and CIB personnel reached Jumla to investigate the robbery.