Balasore: Police here have arrested a seven-member gang involved in thefts at various temples in Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts and seized items worth Rs 6 lakh from their possession, SP Sagarika Nath said in a press conference Sunday. According to sources, thefts from various temples in this district had become a headache for the district police. Many cases were registered in this regard at various police stations and outposts in the district.
On the direction of Balasore SP, a team headed by Sadar SDPO succeeded in arresting the accused. All the members of the gang are from Mayurbhanj district, the SP said. She said, “Four thieves were arrested from Chandipur area April 5, after taking them on remand, three more names of the gang members were disclosed by the accused during interrogation.” The gang was stealing silver ornaments including brass idols from many temples in Mayurbhanj and Balasore districts.
Among them, four thieves were stealing ornaments from temples and the other three were trying to sell them. The cyber team and the district police department had been monitoring them for a long time and finally managed to catch them. All the accused have been forwarded to court. Out of the 19 temple theft cases, 80 per cent of the items have been recovered. The investigation is going on for the remaining six temple theft cases, the SP said.
