Jain idol theft case: Mastermind arrested from Andhra Pradesh

BHUBANESWAR: After getting information from the Karnataka police, Andhra Pradesh police arrested Ghanashyam Das alias Santosh of Nayagarh district for looting idols and articles from a Jain shrine in Moodabidri near Mangalore in coastal Karnataka, informed Bhubaneswar DCP Nitinjit Singh here on Saturday.

Singh said the mastermind of the case, Das, was arrested from Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday. The accused would be handed over to the Karnataka police soon, he added.

Recently Das was in news for keeping the stolen Jain idols and other materials in his father-in-law’s house at Sailashree Vihar in city which was later recovered by the special squad of the Commissionerate Police on July 13 after getting information from the Mangalore police.

Later the special squad had arrested father-in-law and wife of looter Das from the city for hiding idols and articles. The police had also seized around 1 kg gold from Das’s bank locker.

After few days of the seizure, Police commissioner of Mangalore Manish Kharbikar had paid a visit to hold discussions with the top officials of the Commissionerate Police here on July 16 regarding the arrest of the accused.

Notably, the burglary had taken place at around 1:10 am on July 6 by a few unidentified thieves who stole 15 idols, some gold studded with diamonds and precious gems from the Jain shrine in Mangalore. The idols like Bahubali in a sitting position and a few others are said to be rare in the world. Many of the priceless idols were that of Jain Tirthankaras, the police said.