1 more kg gold seized, 2 held
The Orissa police, which had on Sunday recovered few miniature idols, gold ingots weighing 1.12 kg, gemstones and `2 lakh cash from Mangalore temple theft accused father-in-law’s house, has stumbled upon 1 kg of more gold from his bank locker.
The police has also seized 12 bank passbooks and examining them.
Santosh Das, the theft accused who is yet to be arrested, still remains the major headache for the Karnataka police.
According to sources, while the raid was being conducted here at his father-in-law Digambar Mohanty’s on Monday, the accused reportedly called up the Mangalore police commissioner Manish Kharbikar and said, “Congratulations! Your police is in Orissa, but I’m in your city. You cannot arrest me. It’s a challenge for you.”
The Mangalore police on Tuesday arrested the Das’ father-in-law Digambar Mohanty and his wife Dipti Mohanty for their complicity in the 10th-century temple theft case and took them in remand. As many as 15 idols made of gold, pearls, diamonds and other precious stones were stolen on the night of July 5 from Siddantha Mandir of Guru Basadi in Moodbidri, about 35 km from Mangalore. The shrine had 64 idols. The temple’s CCTV camera had recorded footage of a masked man in black jacket.
entering the premises. Soon after the theft, the accused disconnected the surveillance camera.
Sources said the Mangalore police zeroed in on Das, who had in 2009 escaped from the clutches of the local police in connection with another theft.
The accused, the police said, used gas-cutters to break the shutters and grills, covering the showcase where the idols were kept.
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