JAGATSINGHPUR: Four members of a family including three brothers and their mother were arrested for their alleged involvement in theft of 50 idols from at least nine temples across several districts, here on Sunday .
Police identified the accused as Sarada Acharya, Barada Prasad and Annada Prasad. Their mother 62-year-old Nirmala Acharya was arrested on charges of concealing the stolen items.
While Barada and Annada were arrested by Balipatana police for stealing idols from a temple under their jurisdiction, Sarada and their mother Nirmala were eventually apprehended by their Jagatsinghpur counterpart during probe.
Sources said on September 26, the accused had stolen brass utensils, a brass serpent idol and cash from the hundi of Chandrasekhar Mahadev temple and Maa Budhi Basuli temple in the same village. Police, acting on a tip-off, raided the Acharya brothers’ home on Saturday and recovered around 50 stolen idols, lamp stands, gas cylinders, and stoves among other articles buried underground.
Eventually, Sarada was arrested and during interrogation, he confessed to committing multiple thefts in Jagatsinghpur, Khurda, Cuttack, and Puri districts along with his brothers. Further investigation revealed that the siblings were involved in at least nine temple theft cases and one house burglary case within Jagatsinghpur police limits. Jagatsinghpur SP Bhawani Shankar Udgata said Sarada was arrested in connection with nine temple theft cases and a house burglary case.
“His two brothers, Barada and Annada, were arrested by Balipatana police for a temple theft case under their jurisdiction. The two brothers will be brought on remand for interrogation to uncover the full extent of the racket. The recovered stolen idols will be handed over to the respective temple committees,” he added.