Couple arrested for stealing antique idols from temples across Odisha

Puri: The Chandanpur police of Puri district arrested a couple on charges of stealing 10 antique idols made of Ashtadhatu alloy from different temples across the state.

Police said following a series of complaints on idol theft in the district, special teams were formed as per the direction of SP KV Singh under the leadership of Puri Sadar SOPO Kishore Chandra Mund and Pipili SOPO Debadutta Baral to recover the stolen idols and arrest the accused. Puri Additional SP Purnachandra Pradhan was monitoring the investigation.

Today, a police team led by Chandanpur IIC Susanta Kumar Behera nabbed a member of the gang, Prafulla Mishra (57) from Sidi Chhak at Chandanpur Bypass on Puri-Bhubaneswar NH with four antique idols. During further investigation, six more idols were seized from his possession. Later, a case was registered at Chandanpur police station under Sections 457, 380, 411 and 34 of IPC and the cops arrested Prafulla of Patapur village under Nimapada police limits along with his wife.

Further investigation is underway with the help of various district administrations to ascertain the temples, from where the idols were stolen, said the Additional SP at a presser today.