The Ahmedabad Crime Branch has arrested two suspects involved in the theft of idols and cash from Shantinath Jain Derasar in Bilimora, Navsari district. Their arrests have also resolved multiple burglary cases across Mehsana, Ahmedabad and Valsad districts.
The suspects, identified as Mohammed Aminur alias Bhayankar Mannankhan Pathan (30) and Yasin Kalam Sheikh (32), are residents of Siyasat Nagar, Chandola Lake in Ahmedabad, originally from Barasat, West Bengal.
A few days ago, silver and panchdhatu (five-metal) idols, along with cash, were stolen from the temple, leading to a case being registered at Bilimora Police Station.
ACP (Crime) Bharat Patel stated, “The crime branch had been working on the case and apprehended two accused, originally hailing from West Bengal. They used to target temples because, at night, fewer people were present. They would disguise themselves while conducting recce.”
The suspects were arrested near Chandola in Ahmedabad. The city crime branch seized several items, including two silver idols weighing 4.785 kg, valued at Rs 3.65 lakh; one panchdhatu idol weighing approximately 1 kg, valued at Rs 4,000; a German silver aarti worth Rs 1,000; and Rs 3.21 lakh in cash.
“One of the suspects fled Ahmedabad with a statue but was apprehended by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) in Kolkata,” ACP Patel added.
During interrogation, the suspects admitted to conducting recce of several temples, including Nandasan Jain Temple, Vaishnodevi Temple near the Sola High Court Bridge and Vapi Kashtbhanjan Temple, intending to commit theft.
The duo also confessed to several other crimes, including the theft of silver utensils and cash from a house near Vapi Gunjan Chowkdi, the theft of brass and aluminium utensils worth Rs 1.5 lakh from a warehouse near Bareja-Aslali Highway and the theft of copper wires from a scrapyard near Jyoti Warehousing.
The suspects have been handed over to Bilimora Police and further investigations are underway.
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