JAGATSINGHPUR: In a major breakthrough, police on Wednesday night arrested a 51-year-old woman and her three sons for their alleged involvement in more than 50 robbery cases - mainly temple thefts - across Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack and Khurda districts.
The accused are Nirmala Acharya and her sons Sarada (38), Barada (31) and Ananda (26), all residents of Chadheingaon under Jagatsinghpur police limits. Police recovered stolen materials worth around Rs 12 lakh including brass plates and snake figurines, golden crowns of deities, silver ornaments and other temple valuables besides Rs 64,000 cash from the accused’s possession.
SP Ankit Kumar Verma said following a series of temple thefts in different areas of Jagatsinghpur including Benupur and Biribati, a special team was formed under the supervision of Jagatsinghpur SDPO Ajinkya Mane.
As part of investigation, several suspects with past criminal records were identified, and their movements closely watched by engaging informers. Acting on reliable intelligence, the police team raided the house of the accused on Wednesday and caught them red-handed while they were attempting to shift stolen articles and cash to another location in the night.
Verma said during their interrogation, it was found that the woman and her sons were earlier arrested by Jagatsinghpur and Balipatana police in similar cases and were recently released on bail. After their release, they returned back to their old ways and continued to commit the thefts and sold the stolen valuables to known receivers.
The accused committed temple thefts in Balikuda, Raghunathpur, Naugaon and Biridi in Jagatsinghpur as well as Cuttack and Khurda districts. Nirmala along with her sons used to conduct reconnaissance of temples a day before committing the thefts. After each theft, the woman buried the stolen valuables underground and later sold those to receivers at a convenient time, he said.
In September, the accused had stolen articles, cash and ornaments - including two silver crowns- from Bisweswar Mahadev temple at Benupur and Bagdevi temple at Biribati. Some of the stolen items were already sold to a receiver outside the district, while the remaining valuables were being taken to Balakati area for disposal when they were apprehended, the SP added.
All the accused were produced in court on Thursday and remanded in judicial custody.
