Jagatsinghpur, Oct 7: A woman and her three sons were arrested for their alleged involvement in theft of around 50 idols from at least nine temples in Odisha, police said on Monday.
The arrested has been identified as Sarada Acharya, Barada Prasad, Annada Prasad and their mother 62-year-old Nirmala Acharya.
According to police, Barada and Annada were arrested by Balipatana police on Sunday for stealing idols from a temple under its jurisdiction, Sarada and their mother Nirmala were eventually apprehended by Jagatsinghpur police during the probe.
Police 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 Balipatana village under Khordha district. Acting on a tip-off, police 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, Khordha, Cuttack, and Puri districts along with his brothers.
Further investigation revealed that the siblings were involved in nine temple theft cases and one house burglary case under Jagatsinghpur police limits.
