KENDRAPARA: A suspected idol thief, who gave Kendrapara police a tough time by jumping into Brahmani river in a bid to escape, was finally nabbed with the help of fire service personnel on Sunday.The accused was identified as Bharat Mallick of Nayadia village. He had reportedly stolen the idols and other valuables from the century- old Ram temple at Dandisahi in Pattamundai on Friday. Acting on a tip off, police raided his house on Sunday and seized the stolen idols and other items.
However, Mallick managed to escape and to avoid arrest, jumped into Brahmani. After chasing him for around two hours, police with the help of locals and fire service personnel arrested Mallick. “We used two boats to chase the accused. After surrounding Mallick from all sides, we managed to arrest him,” said Pattamundai SDPO Sandhyarani Behuria.