Chennai: The police in Chennai have arrested a 60-year-old man from Maharashtra for allegedly stealing gold and silver ornaments from Jain temples in Tamil Nadu and other southern States.
The accused, identified as Jeevan Singh (60) of Haveli Taluk in Pune district, Maharashtra, was apprehended this past Sunday. Police said he had been absconding and frequently changing locations to evade arrest.
The case came to light in February last year when Suresh Kumar, general secretary of the Sri Chandraprabhu Jain Naya Mandir temple trust on Mint Street, Chennai, discovered the temple locks had been broken. Five silver crowns weighing about 10 kg in total, which adorned the idols, and gold forehead plates weighing around 600 grams were found missing. Based on his complaint, police launched an investigation.
A special team examined CCTV footage from the temple premises and found that a masked man had carried out the theft at night using a torchlight. During the probe, investigators linked the suspect to similar thefts at two Jain temples in Telangana.
Further inquiries revealed that the suspect Jeevan Singh had previously been arrested in a case in Karnataka and was released on bail. However, he failed to appear before court, leading to the issuance of a non-bailable warrant against him. Acting on intelligence inputs, a Chennai police team travelled to Pune, conducted surveillance, and arrested him while he was in hiding.
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Based on his confession, police also arrested Rajbhau Rathod (30) of Wadwani in Beed district in Maharashtra, who allegedly purchased the stolen ornaments. Both accused were produced before the Judicial Magistrate Court in Belapur, Navi Mumbai, on February 9. While Rathod was released, police obtained a transit warrant for Jeevan Singh and brought him to Chennai this week for further investigation.
Police said preliminary inquiry has revealed that Jeevan Singh was also involved in similar temple thefts in Salem and Chengalpattu districts in Tamil Nadu, as well as in Karnataka and Telangana. Further investigation is on.
