Miscreants have stolen gold and silver ornaments worth approximately Rs 2.3 lakh at Sri Devaki Krishna Ravalnatha Temple in Sujeeru Pudu Village, Bantwal Taluk. According to a complaint filed by the temple's administrator, Sujeeru Ramesh Nayak, he was alerted to the break-in early on the morning of November 4. Upon inspection, he discovered that the temple's door latch had been forcibly broken, and valuable items, including gold and silver ornaments, worship materials, and cash from donation boxes, had been taken, as per a report on Times of India.
CCTV footage captured a three-member gang reaching the temple around 3:30 AM and entering through a door by breaking the latch. The footage shows the thieves scouting the premises before moving stealthily into the inner sanctum and gathering gold ornaments, silver pedestals, and other valuables into a bag. Some of the intruders were visibly armed, and they exited the temple with the loot around 4:00 AM, reported Udhayavani.
The stolen items are estimated to include Rs 1.5 lakh in gold ornaments, Rs 80,000 in silver items and Rs 5,000 in cash, totaling an estimated value of Rs 2.35 lakh.
Even though the temple priest resided within the compound, the thieves proceeded with the heist undeterred. The priest’s guard dog reportedly barked in alarm prompting the priest to check the CCTV footage. Upon seeing three armed individuals on the screen, he immediately alerted the temple staff and manager. However, by the time they arrived, the intruders had already escaped.
Following the incident, Bantwal Police Inspector Shivakumar along with Sub-Inspectors Harish and Murthy rushed to the scene. They were accompanied by a canine squad and forensic experts, who carried out an extensive investigation to gather evidence and trace the culprits.