VIJAYAWADA: More than four months after the theft of three silver lion statues from the chariot of Kanaka Durga temple, the city police and the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe attacks on temples, nabbed the accused in the case and recovered 9 kg of silver and stolen property from him. Disclosing this to newsmen here on Saturday, City Commissioner of Police Bathini Sreenivasulu said the accused, Jakkampudi Saibaba, 49, is an old offender hailing from Gollavanitippa village in Bhimavaram mandal of West Godavari district.
He committed similar crimes in the past and even served time in jail in 2008 and 2011. Giving the details of the theft that came to light on September 16, 2020, during the audit of temple properties after the chariot fire at Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Antarvedi, the Police Commissioner said Saibaba visited the Durga temple in June 2020 and saw the chariot covered with a tarpaulin near Mallikarjuna Mahamandapam. After observing it closely, he found one of the silver lion statues on the four corners of the chariot broken and decided to steal them.
A month later, he visited the temple equipped with the necessary tools to remove the silver lions from the chariot. He entered the temple premises in the guise of a trash collector and stayed near Mallikarjuna Mahamandapam. When no temple staff were in the vicinity of the chariot, he stole the silver lions by removing the tarpaulin cover on it.
But, he could remove only three silver lions from the chariot with the help of the tools he brought. Later, he went to Kodevalli village near Tanuku and sold the three silver lions to Muttha Kamalesh, 39, a bullion trader, for `35,000. “We received a clue about Saibaba from our counterparts in West Godavari. Saibaba had committed more than 20 such crimes after he was released from jail in 2013,’’ Sreenivasulu said. Kamalesh was also arrested for purchasing stolen property from Saibaba.
9 kg 9 kg of silver and stolen property were recovered from the accused. He had sold the three silver lions to a bullion trader for `35,000