KOPPAL: Four days after the Vyasaraja Brindavana at Anegundi in Koppal district was found vandalised, police have arrested six ‘treasure hunters’ from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. All the accused are from Tadipatri in Anantapur district. According to the police, the gang came to the ‘Nava Brindavana’ island at Anegundi in search of precious gems and vandalised the shrine in the process.
The island has the Brindavanas of nine Madhwa saints of the 15th century. The Brindavana of Saint Vysaraja was found vandalised on July 18. As news spread, there was widespread condemnation and protests. The issue was also raised in Parliament.
Koppal Superintendent of Police Renuka Sukumar said the accused believed the shrine has a huge treasure and were persuaded to extract it by a temple priest, Balanarasayya (42). Besides the priest, the others arrested are Pollari Murali Manohar Reddy (33), Manohar (27), Kummatkeshav (29), Vijayakumar (36) and Sriramulu (45).
The treasure hunters travelled in a Toyota Innova MUV, driven by Manohar. The vehicle has been seized and the tools used to dig for the treasure have also been recovered.
Five police teams were on the lookout for the offenders, said a police official. They first managed to trace Balanarasayya, the priest at the Ramalingeshwara temple in Tadipatri. Acting on his information, they caught the other accused. The Ramalingeshwara temple was built by the Vijayanagara king Krishnadevaraya.