Police nab priests while trying to sell stolen idol

Mangalore - Mulky police have successfully busted an antique theft case by arresting three Hindu priests. They have also confiscated the valuable and ancient idol of Lord Lakshmi Narasimha worth Rs. 20 lakh from the accused.

The arrested are identified as Raghavendra Bhat from Kaup, Ramachandra Bhat from Heggari and Manjunath from Talapady. They were caught while attempting to sell the stolen statue.

Giving details about the theft case, here on Wednesday, September 29, Mangalore City Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh said that police are trying to nab three accomplices of the arrested namely Ravi, Sandeep and Dinesh, who are now absconding.

Singh said that there are evidences that confirm the antiquity of the idol. He said that the 11 inch high and, 5.5 kg idol made up of a costly metal has a history of nearly three hundred years.

After rigorous interrogation, the accused revealed that the idol belonged to Heggari Lakshmi Narasimha Temple in Bekse Kenchigudde village of Teerthahalli taluk in Shimoga district. According to their confession, Raghavendra Bhat, one of the chief priests of the same temple along with Ravi and Ramachandra Bhat stole the idol and replaced it with a look-alike but cheaper one and tried to sell the antique in order to make money.

The police team which nabbed the priests and conducted investigation comprises of Mulky CPI Shiva Prakash R Naik, PSI Muniswamy Neelakanthan, ASIs Ragahava, HC Chandappa, PCs Chandrashekhar, Sundara, Bennichachan, Sanjeeva, Ashwin Kumar Lohith and few others. The team was guided by Panambur ACP Puttamadayya as per the directions of Seemanth Kumar Singh and DCPs R Ramesh and M Muthuraya.

source: CD Network