Shiv Temple theft cracked, 4 gang members nabbed

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 22

In a major breakthrough, the Khanna police claimed to have solved the Shiv Temple theft and desecration of Shivling within seven days. The police said they have busted a gang that targeted temples and gurdwaras, among other such places across the country. The Khanna police officials said the case was cracked with the cooperation of the Chandigarh, Udham Singh Nagar (Uttarakhand) and Lucknow police departments.

The police said the gang was planning robberies in temples in Tamil Nadu and Telangana, which were prevented. They said four members of the gang were arrested, and 3.6 kg silver was recovered from their possession.

Addressing mediapersons, Senior Superintendent of Police Khanna Ashwini Gotyal said on Thursday that on August 15, at around 4.30 am, two suspects entered the Shivpuri temple through the temple windows and stole various gold and silver ornaments, which included a silver gaagar (which was placed above the Shivling), silver garland around the Shivling, Lord Krishna’s silver flute, silver crowns, and gold ornaments from all the idols there.

SSP Gotyal said the police scanned the CCTV footage, and it was circulated among police stations across the country as the suspects belonged to an interstate gang of thieves. She said the thieves had carried out similar thefts in temples and religious places across the country, and various cases were registered against them in different states.

The SSP said during raids, with the help of Uttarakhand Police, one suspect, Resham Singh alias Rinku of Sindhi Jhala, Udham Singh Nagar (Uttarakhand), was arrested from Delhi. She said apart from this, with the help of the Chandigarh police, another suspect, Ravi Kumar of Mahindpur, Ropar, was arrested from Chandigarh. The suspect Honey was arrested from Ropar. She said the suspect Mohit of Utawal, Aligarh (UP), an associate of this gang, has not been arrested yet.

Divulging the details, the SSP said during the investigation, it had come to light that the gang used to sell the stolen silver and gold ornaments to a Lucknow jeweller, Rajeev Kumar alias Soni of Kumarapuram. She said that on the basis of thsi information, Rajeev was also nominated as a suspect in the case, and he was arrested from Lucknow.

The SSP said the jeweller had transferred Rs 3.5 lakh into the accounts of the suspects after buying stolen jewellery from the gang. She said the bank account of the jeweller had been frozen.

The SSP said the suspects had no connection with Khanna. As per their modus operandi, the gang would search for religious places on the Internet to select their target. The Shivpuri temple was chosen by suspects after they saw silver/gold ornaments adorning idols in the temple. On August 14, the suspects reached Khanna at 11 pm, and after roaming around the temple for hours, they entered the premises to steal the ornaments.

DGP Gaurav Yadav also issued a statement regarding the arrests.

Notably, the Khanna SHO was suspended in the case for misbehaving with the temple committee members. Hindu outfits had given an ultimatum to the Khanna police to arrest the suspects before August 26 or contend with an agitation.