Bhubaneswar: The police in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district have busted an inter-district temple theft racket and arrested three siblings in this connection.
The three siblings have been identified as Sarada Prasad Acharya (38), Barada Prasad Acharya alias Tera alias Raja (29) and Annada Prasad Acharya alias Bindha (25) of Malitota, Salajanga in Jagatsinghpur.
The siblings were involved in a series of temple theft cases in Jagatsinghpur and Cuttack districts, police said.
The police have seized several brass idols and utensils as well as other stolen goods from the accused trio. The siblings’ mother was also involved in the crime as she used to conceal the stolen items in their house, the cops said.
According to police, some miscreants had stolen brass idols, utensils and cash from Chandrasekhar Mahadev temple and Maa Budhi Basuli temple of Chadheigaon, Tumbha Andheisahi on the night hours of September 26.
Laxmi Narayan Mohanty, the president of the temple committee, had lodged a complaint in this regard with Jagatsinghpur police on September 27.
The Jagatsinghpur police had formed a special team to crack the case. On a tip-off, the police arrested Sarada Prasad Acharya on October 5 and questioned him in connection with the temple theft.
During interrogation, Sarada confessed that he and his two younger siblings were involved in the temple theft. Subsequently, Sarada’s siblings--Barada and Annada--were arrested from Balipatana area in Khurda district.
Further investigation has confirmed that the accused siblings were involved in thefts at Kanak Durga temple at Piteipur, Maa Kuttam Chandi temple at Purunagada, Radhakant temple at Chatra, Sai temple at Salajanga, Maa Uttarayani temple and Mahabir temple at Odisho, Hanuman temple at Ashrampatna and Tumbeswar temple at Nuapari in Jagatsinghpur district and Mahabir temple at Shasanapada in Niali area of Cuttack district in last four months.
The siblings had also burgled the house of Biswarupa Acharya at Malitota Salajanga in June this year, police said.